While Honor's last foldable might have only arrived a few months ago in mid-2026, the Chinese tech brand is already preparing to launch its follow-up, the Honor Magic V6, and I was lucky enough to get the chance to check it out in advance of its big reveal at MWC. If Samsung was worried about Apple coming along with the iPhone Fold and taking its position as foldable market leader, I think it had better turn its attention to Honor, and quickly.
First, though, let's cover the specs. The Honor Magic V6 packs Qualcomm's latest SoC powerhouse, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. If you know your phones, you'll know that's the same chip that powers top-tier gaming performance on the REDMAGIC 11 Pro, the current top pick from our guide to the best gaming phones, so that's an indication of what we're expecting from the V6 in terms of performance power.
As for the display, the interior 7.95-inch AMOLED display is absolutely stunning. Another sign of how far foldable phones have come is how unnoticeable the V6's screen crease is. The only way to really see it is by turning the display off and angling it in a very specific way, but otherwise, it's effectively invisible. The 6.52-inch AMOLED outer display is lovely and crisp, too.
Why you can trust our advice ✔ At Pocket Tactics, our experts spend days testing games, phones, tech, and services. We always share honest opinions to help you buy the best. Find out how we test.
The design is the real star of the show, though. I've got the gold model, and if you combine that colorway with the sleek, ultra-thin design, you've got one of the more luxurious-looking phones I've had the pleasure of using. That's a big deal, as foldable phones still aren't exactly cheap. I'd expect this to retail for more than $1,500 when it launches, so if you're paying that amount of money, you want something that feels premium, and the Magic V6 truly does. It's also nice and lightweight, weighing 219g. For context, that's considerably lighter than the 231g iPhone 17 Pro Max.
Coming back to the slim factor, that's another selling point for the Magic V6. It's 4mm thick unfolded, which, frankly, is almost ridiculous, and 8.75mm thick folded. When you take into account just what the V6 has packed into it - cooling tech, a sizeable battery, etc - you start to realize just what a feat of design and engineering this phone is.
Durability has long been a sticking point with foldable phones, but with the Magic V6, Honor has nailed it. It's the first foldable phone that is IP69 rated for dust and waterproofing, and that's a big deal, as IP69 is essentially the gold standard. Not only that, but Honor has tested the device to 500k folds - which, if you unfold your phone 20 times a day, covers you for 25k days - suggesting that the hinge technology is nice and durable.
I mentioned Samsung earlier, so what exactly does the Magic V6 offer that you can't get from the Z Fold 7? Well, for a start, the V6 has the biggest battery of any foldable on the planet, with its 6,660 mAh battery significantly bigger than the Z Fold 7's 4,400 mAh cell. Not only that, but the V6 charges faster, too, with a juicing speed of 80W, twice as fast as the foldable Samsung's 25W.
That's about as much as I can touch on for now, but from what I've experienced, there's a real chance that the Honor Magic V6 could be the phone of 2026. It'll have plenty of competition to face, from the likes of Samsung and Apple, especially if the rumors surrounding the iPhone Fold are true, but from what I've seen so far, I think it's got the design, the specs, and the user-experience mettle to compete with the big dogs.
There you have it, my thoughts after spending a bit of hands-on time with the Honor Magic V6. We'll be back before long with a full review, where we'll test the performance capabilities, cameras, and AI-powered software on offer. For now, though, feel free to check out the competition with our guide to the best foldable phones or find something new to play with our guide to the best mobile games.