HONOR Magic V3 Review | Geek Lifestyle

After its recent reveal, the HONOR Magic V3 has finally landed, and it promises to deliver some key improvements to make it a compelling flagship foldable.

The Magic V3 is HONOR’s latest flagship foldable, and it arrives in the Philippines less than a year after the launch of the Magic V2. We reviewed the previous generation foldable from HONOR earlier this year, and we were impressed with its design, especially when compared with other foldable phones available in the market.

Now, we’ve gotten our hands on the Magic V3, and based on its specs, it promises to again deliver a top-notch flagship experience as it retains many of the things we loved about the V2, all while adding an array of enhancements. While the core design is similar, the Magic V3 comes with a new processor, updated cameras, and a bunch of AI features that promise to make it a proper contemporary flagship (most of this year’s flagships come with AI features after all).

So, does the Magic V3’s enhanced specs and features make it another must-have for shoppers looking for the ultimate foldable? Here’s what we think in our full HONOR Magic V3 review.

Geek-sthetic

To start things off, let’s explore the Magic V3’s design. This phone is a tablet-style foldable that shares a similar look to the Magic V2 in that the cover display with similar dimensions to a standard smartphone. Specifically, the cover screen has a 1060 x 2376  aspect ratio, making for around a 20:9 aspect ratio. For reference, most standard phones today have a 19.5:9 aspect ratio, making this feel more natural to use compared to other foldables with taller cover screens (the Z Fold 6, for instance, has a 22.1:9 aspect ratio cover display).

This is one of the things we liked the most about the Magic V2, and it’s great to see that HONOR retained this design for the newer model. While the screen itself didn’t change much, the V3 is slightly thinner and lighter than the previous model. This makes the Magic V3 the slimmest foldable phone on the market right now.

The V3 is slimmer and lighter by only a couple of millimeters and grams. This might not seem like much, but it helps a lot in making the phone feel better to use. While the V2 already felt nice to use when folded, the Magic V3 feels even better, making the cover display experience feel even more like you’re simply using a typical candybar-shaped phone. In fact, I found that I used the cover display more when I was outside (more on my user experience later though).

What did change dramatically is the camera module which comes with what HONOR calls an “Octagon Dome” design. The V2 has a rectangular camera array on the side, though the V3 has an octagonal camera setup right in the middle. Aside from the camera module, the phone’s back only has a small HONOR logo. Coupling this look with the fact that the phone has a matte finish makes the V3 look quite sleek and elegant.

While I love how thin and light the phone is, the camera module gives the phone a big camera bump. This is especially apparent when you lay the phone down on a table. This shouldn’t be an issue for most users, not to mention that the camera module’s glass should be fairly resistant to scratches.

Speaking of resistance, the Magic V3 also comes with IPX8 water resistance, meaning it can be submerged by up to 2.5 meters for 30 minutes. This is impressive considering that it’s a foldable phone, and it’s a point of improvement over the previous model.

For extra protection, the Magic V3 has a case included inside the box, though we prefer the free case in the V2 which came with a handy kickstand. On the flip side, the V3’s case also has extra protection for the cover screen, though putting it on is a bit weird. Given how slim the phone and the case are, the front cover has some adhesive on the sides, so there’s a chance that you’ll need to replace the cover case after some time.

Moving to the main display, the Magic V2 has a 7.92-inch main screen with a 2156 x 2344 resolution, making for a nearly square aspect ratio. Thanks to its size, this screen should be great for users who want to multitask on their phone. The sides of the display also has slim bezels which give it a nice and sleek style.

As for the hinge on the middle, HONOR promises that it will be sturdy thanks to its enhanced design. We can’t confirm if this makes the phone reliable for years on end, but we can say that the hinge feels nice and sturdy. It’s also smooth to open and close, so we didn’t run into any issues with this part of the V3.

Binge-Watching Factor

The Magic V3’s large main screen makes it a good partner for multitasking. For binge-watching though, we think it’s good as long as you don’t mind big letterboxing. After all, most of today’s films and shows are in widescreen; given the V3’s squarer aspect ratio, you simply can’t fill it up. On the flip side, if you’re watching older movies or shows in a 4:3 aspect ratio, the Magic V3 is excellent.

If you don’t mind the letterboxing, the main screen is nice to watch on as it outputs vibrant colors and deep blacks. This is thanks to the fact that it’s an AMOLED panel. It also helps that the main screen has a 1800 nits peak brightness, making it a bit brighter than the previous HONOR foldable.

If you’re worried about the crease showing, don’t fret as it’s pretty much invisible when watching videos. Of course, you’ll see the crease when you fold the phone partway, but even then, it’s not hugely distracting.

Speaking of folding the phone, you can also opt to fold the phone partway and watch video on just the upper part of the screen. This is nice with some apps like YouTube as the bottom half features video controls. For us though, this is a niche use case as you’re better off using the entire screen or just the cover screen.

Thanks to its more conventional aspect ratio, we actually liked watching movies on the cover screen. It helps that this display is OLED, meaning it also has similarly vibrant colors and true blacks as the main display. Of course, the main screen is still the best way to watch movies/shows in our eyes.

As for audio, the Magic V3 has surprisingly good stereo speakers, especially given how thin and light it is. Audio sounds clear even at max volume, all while having decent bass extension. For the best experience though, we still recommend speakers or headphones. You’ll need a wireless audio device though as this does not have a headphone jack like pretty much every foldable.

Gaming Prowess

For its latest flagship foldable, HONOR went with a top-of-the-line Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset that’s paired with 12GB of RAM for the Magic V3. With this setup, the phone should have plenty of power to run today’s most demanding titles with no issues.

As expected, the Magic V3 handled all the games we threw at it with ease, ranging from popular MOBAs like Wild Rift to more demanding RPGs like Genshin Impact. For reference, Wild Rift ran smoothly at High while Genshin Impact also worked well in the recommended High preset. You can opt to increase the graphics settings, though we prefer to stay at the recommended settings.

Do note that while there were no issues with these games, this is not a top-of-the-line gaming phone, meaning it can become noticeably warm when playing. This wasn’t a big issue, though it’s worth noting given that letting it run hot for a long time can negatively impact battery life (which we’ll get to later). Still, this shouldn’t be a problem except for players who often go on marathon gaming sessions.

Given its large, tablet-like main display, you might think that the larger screen is the way to go for games. That might be the case for some games that are optimized for squarer screens, but for many popular titles, the main screen wasn’t as good.

For instance, you get a narrower view in games like Genshin Impact. This tradeoff for extra immersion might be fine for some players, but it’s not the way to go in our opinion when playing competitive multiplayer titles.

There’s also the fact that the phone can be a bit awkward to hold when unfolded. You can grip it with the cover display side down, though that can feel a bit slippery, not to mention that this grip will block the stereo speakers.

Gripping the phone’s matte back is better in this regard, though you do end up getting your hands on the camera module. As such, you’ll want to wipe the camera module’s glass after each playthrough. Given that it protrudes noticeably, this can also feel a bit awkward to some.

In the end, we much preferred playing on the cover display as that gave a more natural experience for most games. Sure, it’s a bit thicker, though we still found this configuration to feel comfy to play on.

Geek Photoshoot Capabilities

It’s not just the chipset that saw big improvements here as the Magic V3’s cameras are also better on paper. Specifically, the phone has a 50MP main + 40MP ultrawide + 50MP 3.5x telephoto triple rear camera setup, coupled with a 20MP camera on the main screen and another 20MP shooter on the cover display.

These are better on paper, but do they actually deliver when it comes to photography? Based on our tests, the Magic V3’s cameras are very much flagship level.

To start, the 50MP main camera does not disappoint when taking photos in daytime outdoors and indoors. Shots taken with this shooter retain plenty of detail and have vibrant colors. Speaking of colors, the camera has three shooting options: Natural, Vibrant, and Authentic. During our tests, we stuck with the Natural and Vibrant options which looked fairly similar to us. Despite how it’s named, the Authentic option is the most saturated.

Note that shots aren’t as natural-looking with this phone as the colors look noticeably punchy whichever shooting mode is chosen. This is especially true if you also have HDR and AI Photo assist on.

At night, the Magic V3 captures quality photos with its Night Mode as a good amount of detail is retained. While Auto Mode shots are also nice, we recommend sticking with Night Mode when taking photos with the 50MP main shooter.

As expected, the ultrawide isn’t as good as the main shooter, but shots are still of good quality, whether in daytime, indoors, our outdoors in low light. Again, we recommend sticking with Night Mode when taking low light photos with the ultrawide.

The Magic V3’s 3.5x telephoto shooter is impressive as photos in both the 3.5x and 10x zoom lengths are sharp and have plenty of detail. For 2x zoom, the phone uses the main camera, and the results are also quite good. You can zoom up to 100x here, though quality isn’t the best at this point.

What was impressive is the low light  results. While results aren’t this exceptional across the board, you can get some incredible shots with the telephoto shooter like the moon shot at 70x zoom shown above. Note that you can only go more than 10x zoom on the normal shooting mode as Night Mode is capped to 10x zoom.

Of course, this is thanks in large part to the Magic V3’s AI image processing capabilities. Some might not consider this to be an authentic shot (this was a big talking point last year) given how much it relies on AI, but it’s still cool to have for some users.

Outside of moon shots and other niche cases, we recommend sticking with lower zoom and using Night Mode for low light telephoto shots based on the results we got.

HONOR’s flagship phones tout impressive portrait photography capabilities, and that’s also the case with the Magic V3. This phone also comes with HONOR’s Harcourt portrait filters, coupled with an array of other shooting options, making it a capable partner for portrait photography.

Finally, the Magic V3’s two 20MP cameras can take good selfies. In our tests though, shots taken with the two cameras were hard to tell apart, meaning you can use either one for your selfies without needing to worry about quality. Better yet, you can use the main camera setup to take selfies thanks to the Cover Screen Preview feature.

Everyday Reliability

As a daily driver, we liked the user experience that the Magic V3 provided. At this point, the phone is still one of the few foldables we liked using when folded given that it feels like a typical phone when using only the cover screen.

When unfolded, we also found it great, especially for productivity and general browsing as the big screen makes a difference. What’s more, MagicOS is also a pretty good UI as we only encountered a few issues with it on certain apps. We also found that the apps transition smoothly from one screen to another when folding or unfolding the phone. Of course, you can tweak how this works to your liking, along with some other useful things like orientation.

As for the issues, some apps did look a bit wonky on the main screen. Meanwhile, others had trouble displaying text, though this is likely more of an app optimization issue for foldables and not a problem that’s only present in the Magic V3. It’s worth noting that there are still some niggles like this, but for the most part, this phone shouldn’t present much in the way of issues.

We also found the multitasking capabilities of the phone to be useful while fairly easy to use. When you open floating windows of apps, you can tweak how they are laid out on the screen handily. Plus, you also get a tab feature on the right for help with navigation.

Also present in the phone are a bunch of AI features, the most useful for us being Google’s Circle to Search which has become a standard in many new flagships. As this lets you look up anything on your screen by encircling it, this is definitely a nice feature to have when it comes tor productivity.

The only thing to really take note of with the Magic V3 is its battery life. While it has a large 5,150mAh battery, if you use the main screen most of the time with heavy use, it might not last the entire workday. Of course, you can make it last for a day if you mainly split your use between the main and cover display.

This is a tradeoff to give the phone its incredibly slim design. Thankfully, it isn’t a massive issue thanks to the phone’s 66W wired fast charging. Yes, this phone comes with a fast charger inside the box, so you can at least fill it up when you need to. Plus, quick top-ups should give you hours of use.

Final Geek Lifestyle Verdict

The HONOR Magic V3 is an excellent foldable thanks to its great design, capable performance, and excellent day-to-day-usability. As with the V2, the Magic V3 stands out for being a proper 2-in-1 device as you can treat it as a standard smartphone when folded, and then use it as a tablet when unfolded.

There are some things to consider like the okay battery life and the visual issues with some apps, though these aren’t major dealbreakers. The main consideration here though is its price.

HONOR’s latest foldable is priced at PHP 89,990 – a premium price tag for most users. Of course, the phone’s early-purchase promo in the PH does add a free HONOR Pad X9 (worth PHP 9,990) to sweeten the deal.

Is it worth getting? Well, if you want what is perhaps the best foldable in terms of design and usability and are willing to shell out big bucks, the Magic V3 should definitely be on your radar.

HONOR Magic V3 specs:

• 7.92 inch (2156 x 2344) foldable LTPO AMOLED display, 120Hz refresh rate
• 6.43 inch (1060 x 2376) LTPO OLED cover display, 120Hz refresh rate
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor
• 12GB RAM
• 512GB storage
• Rear cameras: 50MP main + 40MP ultrawide + 50MP 3.5x telephoto triple rear camera setup
• Front camera: 20MP
• Cover camera: 20MP
• 5G, LTE
• Side-mounted scanner, USB Type-C port
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e/7, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot, Bluetooth 5.3
• IPX8 water resistant
• 5,150mAh battery with 66W wired Fast charging
• Android 14 with MagicOS 8.0.1
• Price: PHP 89,990