HONOR Magic V5 Review

Every time HONOR drops a new entry in its Magic V series, we can’t help but geek out over the engineering wizardry they manage to pack in. Foldables are already one of the hardest product categories to develop; most manufacturers find it difficult to address issues with hinges, creases, durability, and battery efficiency.

However, HONOR consistently demonstrates that they are here to establish standards rather than merely play catch-up.

Let’s just say that the HONOR Magic V5’s release further demonstrates that the company isn’t about to run out of tricks. This foldable feels like HONOR’s most comprehensive attempt to turn foldables become mainstream flagship products, not simply futuristic toys, thanks to its incredibly thin body and powerful internals.

Today, we’re taking a deep dive into the HONOR Magic V5.

Design and Construction

The first thing you’ll notice about the Magic V5 is how light and pocketable it feels for a book-style foldable. At just 217 grams and only 8.8mm thick when folded and 4.1mm when unfolded, this is hands down the thinnest and lightest foldable in its class right now. It feels almost unreal, especially when you compare it to the bulkier builds of its rivals.

The metal chassis and symmetrical angular lines give it that sharp, premium look, while its soft satin-like finish adds just enough grip without feeling slippery. Unlike many foldables that still feel experimental or fragile, the Magic V5 feels like a proper flagship you can comfortably use as your daily driver.

What makes it even more impressive is its IP58/IP59 dust and water resistance, a feature that puts it above many competitors who still struggle to offer reliable ingress protection. For something with moving hinge parts, this is no small feat.

Speaking of hinges, HONOR nailed it here. The buttery smooth mechanism unfolds with confidence, locks in place with a subtle click, and leaves barely any visible crease on the inside screen.

Even after repeated folding, there’s no wobble, no flex — just that solid, reassuring feel. More importantly, when it’s folded, it doesn’t feel like two phones stacked together, it feels like a regular phone in your pocket. That’s the kind of progress we’ve been waiting for in the foldable space.

Display

Foldables live or die by their displays, and the Magic V5 does not disappoint.

Unfold the device and you’re greeted by a 7.95-inch LTPO AMOLED panel with a 2172 x 2352 resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and a jaw-dropping 5000 nits peak brightness. That’s not just numbers on a spec sheet, it translates to unparalleled outdoor visibility and some of the most vibrant HDR content you’ll ever see on a mobile device. The 9.75:9 aspect ratio makes it more square than tall, giving you usable real estate for multitasking and immersive viewing.

The cover display is no slouch either at 6.43 inches, 120Hz refresh rate, 5000 nits brightness level, and even packs HONOR’s NanoCrystal Shield, which boosts scratch resistance.

During my flight to Bali, a passenger seated beside me was amazed by how great the display was. I’ve used my HONOR Magic V5 in my entire Bali trip, and it really didn’t disappoint. It catches some attention from the people I have toured with. It was truly a satisfying experience in terms of multimedia activities and mind you, this was my primary phone during my trip.

Performance and Benchmarks

The Magic V5 runs on the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, built on a 3nm process. It’s paired with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to a whopping 1TB of UFS 4.0 storage (our local review unit is only 512GB). On paper, this is a monster. In real life, it feels exactly like that.

Geekbench scores land at 1204 for single-core and 4898 for multi-core, while Antutu peaked at 1.75 million after the latest firmware update.

Benchmarks aside, this thing is an absolute workhorse. Games like Genshin Impact and COD Mobile? Smooth as butter even on max settings. I had no frame drops even after half an hour of gaming.

Where it really shines is multitasking. Picture this: you’re on a Zoom call on one side of the screen, taking notes on the other, with YouTube running in a floating window. On most phones, that would choke the system. On the Magic V5, it doesn’t even blink. Everything stays responsive.

HONOR also deserves props for the cooling system here. The combo of aerogel layers and a titanium vapor chamber keeps thermals in check. After an hour of gaming and some video editing, the phone only got mildly warm. No throttling, no battery drain nightmare. For a foldable this thin, that’s honestly impressive.

Cameras

Foldables usually take a backseat in the camera department, but HONOR clearly decided they weren’t going to play that game. The Magic V5 packs a 50MP Sony IMX906 sensor with OIS and an f/1.6 aperture, a 50MP ultra-wide, and a 64MP sensor with 3x optical zoom lens and up to 100x digital zoom.

Photos from the main camera look fantastic; sharp details, punchy colors, and solid dynamic range even in tricky lighting. Low light performance is strong too, with the wide aperture pulling in a ton of detail without cranking ISO to the max. The ultra-wide holds up well with minimal distortion, while the telephoto lens stays sharp up to around 10x zoom. Past that, it leans on AI processing, but shots remain usable for social media.

What sets HONOR apart are the AI tools built right into the camera app. Magic Retouch lets you clean up portraits, AI Eraser wipes out unwanted objects, and Outpainting expands backgrounds like magic. They sound gimmicky but they actually work.

I erased a guy who photo-bombed my street shot and the fill looked natural enough that you wouldn’t notice.

Video is just as impressive. You get 4K at 60fps with 10-bit color, plus both OIS and gyro-EIS for steady handheld shooting. Add in 960fps slow-motion and macro shots as close as 2.5cm, and you’ve got plenty of creative flexibility. Both the inner and outer 20MP selfie cams shoot clean 4K video too, which makes this foldable a great tool for vloggers.

Sample shots below:

OS, Apps and UI

Running on MagicOS 9 based on Android 15, the Magic V5 feels much more refined than earlier HONOR foldables. Multitasking is easy, with smooth split-screen controls and floating windows. App continuity works as expected, so if you start something on the cover screen, it instantly expands to the inner display without hiccups.

AI is baked into the experience as well. Circle to Search makes looking things up fast, while Magic Portal helps you drag content across apps in a smart way HONOR is also promising four years of OS updates and five years of security patches.

There are still a few rough edges. Some apps crash occasionally, and yes, there’s a bit of bloatware. Overall, MagicOS feels smoother, more polished, and finally worthy of flagship hardware like this.

Connectivity and Battery

Foldables are notorious for bad battery life, but the Magic V5 is proved otherwise. With its 5,820mAh Silicon-Carbon battery, I was easily getting a day and a half of heavy use. For lighter users, stretching it to two days is totally possible. This was my buddy during my Bali tour, and I’ve never thought of bringing a powerbank with me or a charger, because the V5 is confident that it would last me and it surely did.

Charging is no joke either. With 66W wired charging, it goes from zero to full in under 45 minutes. Wireless charging is supported at 50W, and 5W reverse wireless charging is available for accessories. These numbers put some slab phones to shame, which is wild considering this is a foldable.

For numbers, we had the phone undergo PC Mark Battery test and numbers didn’t lie. We did it twice, folded and unfolded, and the results are insane. In the folded state, the Magic V5 extracted a result of 21 hours and 49 minutes, while the unfolded pumped a result of 14 hours and 44 minutes.

Connectivity is also top-notch. You’re getting 5G with eSIM support, WiFi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, NFC, and even an infrared blaster for controlling appliances. Security is handled by a side-mounted fingerprint scanner that’s fast and reliable, plus a facial recognition system that works well in most lighting.

Conclusion

The HONOR Magic V5 feels like the first foldable that doesn’t make excuses. It’s thin and light yet powerful and feature-rich. It’s not a futuristic experiment, it’s a proper flagship that just happens to fold.

With its ultra-premium design, class-leading display, flagship performance, and competitive cameras, HONOR has managed to make a foldable a true flagship that can genuinely be a daily driver.

The HONOR Magic V5 is priced at PHP 89,999 — if you’re wondering if it’s worth it, I can say that it actually worth every penny.

What we liked:
* Smooth display
* Seamless crease
* Cameras

Honor Magic V5 specs:
6.43” LTPO OLED, 120Hz, 5000 nits (peak), 1060 × 2376, ~404 ppi, NanoCrystal Shield
7.95” LTPO AMOLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, 5000 nits (peak), 2172 × 2352, ~403 ppi, 9.75:9 aspect
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite (SM8750-AB), 3 nm
Octa-core (2 × 4.32 GHz Oryon V2 Phoenix L + 6 × 3.53 GHz Oryon V2 Phoenix M)
Adreno 830 GPU
• 50MP f/1.6, 23mm (wide), OIS, PDAF
• 64MP f/2.5, 70mm (telephoto), 3x optical, OIS, PDAF
• 50MP f/2.0, 13mm (ultrawide), 122°, AF
HDR, panorama, laser AF, LED flash
4K@30/60fps (10-bit), 1080p@30/60fps, gyro-EIS, OIS
Front camera:
• 20MP f/2.2 (wide), 4K/1080p@30fps, gyro-EIS
5G, dual SIM (Nano + eSIM)
WiFi 7, BT 6.0 (aptX HD)
NFC
IR port
USB 3.1 Type-C (DisplayPort 1.2)
Dual stereo speakers, Hi-Res audio
Honor Super Armored Inner Screen (Mohs 4)
IP58/IP59 Rating for water and dust resistance
Stylus support
Side-mounted fingerprint sensor
MagicOS 9 (based on Android 15)
5,820mAh Silicon-carbon Li-ion (China variant 6100mAh)
66W wired, 50W wireless, 5W reverse wired
8.8mm (folded), 4.1mm (unfolded)
217–222 grams (weight)
Black, Ivory White, Dawn Gold, Reddish Brown (colors)