In a market where every millimeter—and every gram—feels like hard-won ground, Honor has leapt ahead with its latest flagship. The Magic V5, skipping the “V4” designation altogether, arrives claiming the crown of the world’s thinnest foldable phone. But beneath that headline-grabbing stat lie a host of upgrades that go well beyond shaving off 0.1mm.
At first glance, the Magic V5 bears a striking resemblance to its predecessor, the Magic V3. Honor has retained the clean, minimalist aesthetic that defined last year’s model, but subtle tweaks reveal a flatter metal frame—designed, according to the company, to improve handling and screen alignment. Folded, the device measures just 8.8mm thick in the Ivory White finish—0.1mm slimmer than the Oppo Find N5—though other colors (Black, Dawn Gold, Reddish Brown) settle at a hairier 9mm due to varying finishing materials. Unfolded, that thickness shrinks to 4.1mm in Ivory White (4.2mm in the other hues), making it one of the slimmest opening foldables on the market.
Despite its paper-thin profile, Honor hasn’t sacrificed durability. The Magic V5 carries both IP58 and IP59 ratings—upgrading from the Magic V3’s IPX8 water resistance by adding full dust protection—so you’re safe from rainstorms and the odd dust storm alike.
It’s not just about thickness. At 217g for the Ivory White version (222g for the rest), the V5 ties with Vivo’s X Fold as the lightest book-style foldable available. For context, that’s roughly the same weight as a modern slab phone—yet this device hides a nearly 8‑inch internal display under its hood. In everyday terms, you’ll barely notice the difference when tossing it into your pocket or bag.
Honor’s silicon‑carbon battery innovation returns with a bigger capacity: a 6,100mAh pack in China (5,820mAh overseas), up from the V3’s already ample 5,150mAh. Fast charging remains at 66W wired, meaning you can push from zero to 60 percent in about 20 minutes, while wireless charging holds steady at 50W—still among the fastest on any foldable.
On the outside, a 6.43‑inch cover screen (2,376 × 1,060 px) welcomes you with a 120Hz LTPO OLED panel capable of hitting a blinding 5,000 nits peak brightness. Inside, a slightly larger 7.95‑inch (2,352 × 2,172 px) LTPO OLED mirror-matches those specs, so you get buttery-smooth scrolling whether you’re gaming, reading, or binge‑watching. Honor protects the cover glass with its Anti‑scratch NanoCrystal Shield and the folding panel with Super Armored Inner Screen tech—features first seen on the V3, now certified tougher still.
Honor has fine-tuned its camera array to push the V5 ahead of the competition. The primary shooter remains a 50MP f/1.6 wide‑angle module, but you now get a 50MP f/2.0 ultrawide (up from 40MP) and a new periscope telephoto: 70mm f/2.5 aperture with a 64MP, 1/2.0‑inch sensor (up from 1/2.51‑inch), delivering 3× optical zoom and clearer long‑range snaps. For selfies, two 20MP f/2.2 cameras sit discreetly in the punch‑holes of each display.
Powering the Magic V5 is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite—its newest, most efficient flagship chipset—paired with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 storage. Honor offers three configurations:
- 12GB RAM / 256GB storage (CNY 8,999 / ~$1,255)
- 16GB RAM / 512GB storage (CNY 9,999 / ~$1,400)
- 16GB RAM / 1TB storage (CNY 10,999 / ~$1,535)
Color choices mirror the thickness variants: Ivory White (slimmest), Black, Dawn Gold, and Reddish Brown. International pricing has not been confirmed but typically runs 20–30 percent higher when converted from yuan.
By jumping from V3 straight to V5, Honor sends a message: this isn’t an incremental update, but a leap. In foldables, where innovation plateaus are becoming more common, shaving even a tenth of a millimeter off the chassis takes as much engineering prowess as boosting battery capacity or camera performance. The Magic V5 proves that the genre still has headroom for tangible progress, not just marketing spin.
As Samsung readies its Galaxy Z Fold7 and Huawei explores trifold designs, Honor’s latest foldable arrives at an inflection point. With top‑tier specs, industry‑leading thinness, and full durability credentials, the Magic V5 stakes its claim as a showcase of foldable potential—and a warning that the race for ever‑thinner, lighter, and more powerful devices is far from over.
