HONOR V Purse concept foldable unveiled: A ‘phygital’ fashion statement

Honor unveiled a ‘new’ foldable concept phone dubbed as HONOR V Purse at the IFA 2023. As the name suggests, it is a foldable device that doubles as your purse, at least in terms of appearance.

It sports an outward foldable design that is impressively thin, measuring only 9mm when folded. This is even thinner than the Magic V2, which Honor also showcased at the Berlin tech convention.

HONOR V Purse: A phygital fashion statement

Honor calls this a ‘phygital’ (physical+digital) fashion statement incorporating a variety of strap designs with interactive Always-On Display (AoD) styles.

Despite being a concept device, the brand intends to make the platform for AOD designs available to the public. This way, developers worldwide can get creative and customize their own unique interactive AoD looks.

In other words, animations sync to the user and the environment. Thanks to its ability to track touches and access the ambient light sensor and accelerometer.

The concept phone enlisted a star-studded team of designers, including Bram Van Diepen, the director of menswear design at Burberry; contemporary artist Yunuene Esparza; Yuan Youmin, the dean of the China Academy of Art International College; and interdisciplinary artist Xiao Hui Wang, to create its AoD styles.

With its interchangeable straps and various always-on display designs, visible on both sides of the outward foldable phone, you can match it to any outfit you wear.

The brand may have kept quiet about the hardware details, but one thing’s for sure: The hinge on this foldable concept phone can endure 400,000 fold cycles.

It’s suspiciously similar to the 2019 HUAWEI Mate X

Looking at its design, it bears a striking resemblance to the 2019 HUAWEI Mate X. Both devices have a similar camera layout, with a moniker on the bottom left and a switch at the middle to unfold the device.

But let’s be real, this isn’t just a coincidence—the two brands were once sister companies until they decided to go their separate ways to avoid getting caught up in the US sanctions against Huawei.

As a concept phone, it defies the current design convention of what we expect from a phone. While it’s not intended for mass production, it is a head-turner with its fashionable physical and digital elements.