It's Finally Gone Global! Honor Magic V6 Review
At long last, the embargo on the global version of the Honor Magic V6 is up. I have had this device for three months, and it remains an extremely well-made device. The hardware feels really, really good. They managed to get the camera bump shrunken down quite a bit from the V5 without sacrificing camera performance. In fact, it is actually better. When you compare it to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, they are a pretty close match. In terms of thickness and weight, they are remarkably similar. They are both very, very light. When you consider that the Honor has a battery well over 6,000 mAh for the global variant, that weight is interesting.
This is truly a zero battery anxiety device. I am unplugging at 6:00 or 6:30 in the morning and going to bed with 35% to 40% of that battery left. I normally get 4 to 6 hours of screen on time, but I have pushed it further and it makes it through the day no problem. This could be a two-day phone if you are a little more conservative. I will also give credit to Honor for not placing the power button and fingerprint scanner super high like a lot of other brands.
Operating System and Software
This is Android, but it is Magic OS. By and large, I think this is a very, very good version of Android. That said, it is too much like iOS. You have your quick settings on one panel and your notifications on the other. No way to combine them. I am not a fan. They are spending time on liquid glass, which makes me think, why are we trying so hard to look like Apple? There are better things we could be doing, like proper Material You theming. By default, colors do not match my wallpaper unless I install a third-party utility.
It also bugs me that if you are in an app on the inner screen and you open a notification, it opens in a floating window. I want it to be full screen. I wish I could turn that off. But their multitasking is absolutely fantastic. I love how smooth the animations are. I can grab a handle, toss an app to the side, and open a second application. It works incredibly well.
Display and Performance
The screens are quite bright. Ignore the manufacturer numbers, but in reality, when you put it next to something like the ZFold 7 in direct sunlight, it is very competitive. It has a slight anti-reflective coating that is very good. The crease is another area where I think Honor has done a pretty good job. It is very minimal. This thing is also extremely fast. I ran 3D Mark and the best loop score was 6528. It is an incredibly fast, powerful device. It did get hot at 47° C, and performance dropped after the first few loops, but for short bursts, it is wildly powerful.
Camera Performance
The camera is pretty darn good. My only real problem is that it is occasionally overexposed, but you can lower the exposure value to minus 0.7 in the settings. Colors pop and it is very detailed. It does occasionally lean too warm at random times, which is annoying. The primary sensor is very detailed and the ultra-wide does the job well. I think the star of the show is the telephoto. It is fantastic. It competes with other devices and it wins. The Magic V6 has the best zoom of any foldable I have on hand. Video also looks pretty darn good. It is not quite up to Samsung standards in some ways, but it is close.
Final Verdict
All around, the camera bump is a huge size, but it is well worth it. For me, the only thing that really holds this device back is how hard they are trying to pander to those iPhone users. But the hardware, camera, battery life, and performance are all great. Many software elements, like the multitasking, are fantastic. There is just a little bit too much of that iPhone stuff going on for me to say this is my favorite foldable, but it is definitely high up on the list. If you are an iPhone user, it is probably even better of an option. They have done a bunch of things to make sure this device can weasel its way into the Apple ecosystem as best as they can, which I understand as a strategy, even if it is not 100% for me. Shout out to Honor for sending the Magic V6 over for me to review.
