Overview

Since its global launch in late 2024, the HONOR Magic V3 has been consistently celebrated as the thinnest and lightest book-style foldable phone available, measuring just 9.2mm folded and 4.4mm unfolded at 226g — thinner than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6, Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, and even the Xiaomi Mix Fold 4. Reviewers across WIRED, PhoneArena, and Trusted Reviews converge on this slimness as the phone's defining achievement, noting it makes the Magic V3 feel closer to a regular candybar phone than a folding device.

The most repeated praise centers on the phone's remarkable thinness not coming at the expense of battery capacity or camera quality — Honor fit a substantial 5,150mAh silicon-carbon battery and an improved triple-camera system with a genuine periscope telephoto lens into this slim body. The most consistent criticism targets MagicOS's continued lack of polish compared with rival foldable software experiences, an issue reviewers note has persisted across HONOR's Magic series.

Daily use

In daily use, the Magic V3 is described as feeling remarkably close to a regular phone when folded, a direct result of its industry-leading thinness. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset delivers great all-around performance for everyday tasks, multitasking, and the demands of running a large foldable display.

The 7.92-inch main display and 6.43-inch cover display both use LTPO AMOLED technology with 120Hz refresh rates, and reviewers consistently praise the vibrant, high-brightness output, with the cover display reaching up to 5,000 nits peak brightness.

MagicOS 8 (upgradable to MagicOS 9 on Android 15) draws mixed reviews — while functional, reviewers note it lacks the finesse and polish of rival foldable software experiences, representing the phone's clearest remaining weakness relative to its hardware achievements.

Magic V3

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Camera

Camera feedback is consistently positive relative to the foldable category — the 50MP main sensor is excellent, described as speedy for action shots with a relatively large sensor and aperture that delivers solid low-light performance and generally pleasing photos.

The improved 50MP periscope telephoto lens with 3.5x optical zoom is a meaningful upgrade over the previous Magic V2 generation, and while reviewers note the overall camera system doesn't quite match the best standalone smartphone cameras, it isn't far behind — a notable achievement for a foldable this thin. AI Motion Sensing and the AI Portrait Engine add useful auto-capture and portrait enhancement features.

Battery and charging

The 5,150mAh third-generation silicon-carbon battery is a genuine standout, with one reviewer surprised to find it regularly lasted two days between charges, and Trusted Reviews citing around seven hours of screen-on time before needing a recharge.

66W wired charging and 50W wireless charging bring the phone to full in under an hour, with Honor advising users to unfold the phone during charging to juice up the dual internal batteries at maximum speed.

Performance

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset delivers great all-around performance, handling everyday tasks, multitasking across the large foldable display, and moderate gaming without significant complaints from reviewers.

Running a large internal display increases power draw noticeably, and reviewers note that while the phone performs well, sustained heavy use of the big screen accelerates battery drain relative to using the smaller cover display for quick tasks.

Handling and portability

At 74.0 mm wide, 156.6 mm tall folded, and 226 g, the Magic V3 is remarkably light for a book-style foldable, and reviewers note this genuinely makes it feel more like a standard phone in the hand when closed, despite the large internal display.

One-handed use of the unfolded internal display remains challenging given how much screen real estate is available — a limitation reviewers note is inherent to the book-style foldable format rather than specific to the Magic V3's design.

Build quality

The Magic V3's headline achievement is its thinness — 9.2mm folded and 4.4mm unfolded, achieved through King Kong Rhinoceros display protection, a glass-fiber reinforced plastic back, and an aluminum frame, all while adding IPX8 water resistance and a wireless charging coil not present on the prior generation.

The hinge mechanism feels solid and well-engineered, supporting the phone's slim profile without introducing noticeable wobble, and stylus support adds functional versatility for note-taking and sketching on the large internal display.