8 hours ago
Thin is in and this Galaxy Z Fold 7 rival just proved it again
The Chinese brand Honor has just given us the first glimpse of its upcoming foldable, the Magic V5 – and it is expected to reclaim the title of the world's thinnest smartphone.
In the days leading up to the launch event, set for July 2, Honor is teasing the upcoming Magic V5 – and the latest teaser gives us a good (although not complete) look at its design. And yep, it is looking incredibly thin. There's also a huge camera bump on the back, rumored to include a 200 MP periscope telephoto sensor.
The new Gold color looks pretty sleek. | Image credit – Honor The teaser shows the device in a color that is likely the previously rumored premium Silk Gold, which will join last year's Magic V3 colors:
Velvet Black
Snow White
Tundra Green The new option definitely looks sleek and gives the phone a bit of a style edge over rivals like the Galaxy Z Fold 7, which – once again – is expected to show up in some pretty tame shades.
Now, according to this teaser, the Magic V5 is set to become the world's thinnest foldable. That means it will beat out the current record-holder, the Oppo Find N5, which comes in at 8.9 mm folded and 4.2 mm when open. It's basically a rematch – Honor held the title before, then Oppo took it, and now Honor wants it back. So, it looks like this is going to be a yearly back-and-forth between the two.
But it's not just Oppo in the race. Samsung is also expected to launch its slimmest Galaxy Z Fold yet – likely just under 9 mm – though still probably not as thin as what Honor's cooking.
And then there's vivo, with the X Fold 5 set to drop next week. That one is also getting a slimmer body and, interestingly, a way bigger battery than both its predecessor and the upcoming Galaxy phone. Yep, if the leaks are right, Samsung's sticking with the same 4,400mAh battery again on the Fold 7 , while both Honor and vivo are going for 6,000mAh+ cells. So this year, it looks like battery life and design might not be Samsung's strong suits. But global availability? That's still a huge win for Samsung – and a big factor when it comes time to actually buy one of these in-store.
Honor Magic V5 expected specs:
Snapdragon 8 Elite
16 GB RAM or more
6,100mAh battery
200 MP periscope telephoto camera
Satellite messaging support
Loads of AI features
The Honor Magic V5 is shaping up to be a real threat in the foldables game and with three big launches lined up in the next few weeks, it has a shot at stealing the spotlight.
The current Magic V3 already edged out the Galaxy Z Fold 6 in our review scores (by 0.2 points, but still) and chances are the next-gen battle will not be as close. And if you care about thinness, Honor's clearly ahead and the V5 might be your best bet.I say 'might' because, well, availability is always the catch. There's a good chance this phone won't launch officially in the US – again. But if you are up for importing, this looks like a seriously tempting option.
The Magic V5 improves in basically every area compared to last year's model. And considering the Magic V3 already nailed the dream of a foldable that feels like a normal phone when closed, imagine how good an even thinner version will feel. Secure your connection now at a bargain price!
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