Porsche designs a camera phone that looks like a car... if you squint... a lot

Picture the scene: you're in the market for a new camera phone, and you've got a stack of cash way too thick to fit in the pockets of your Balenciaga jeans. Obviously the current iPhone, Pixel, or Galaxy S phone is out of the question - far, far too common. A high-end foldable phone would be more befitting of your status, but even these are starting to fall into the hands of the proletariat. No, you need something even more exclusive. Enter the new PORSCHE DESIGN HONOR Magic V2 RSR. A foldable phone, which to quote Honor directly, "provides a sportscar experience in the user’s palm".

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Yes, what we have here is a cross between a phone and a Porsche car, or at least that's what the press release wants you to think. No, really, it does: "The PORSCHE DESIGN HONOR Magic V2 RSR features a bold design inspired by motorsports. The flyline of the backside of the industry-leading foldable smartphone is intricately reminiscent of the hood of a Porsche 911. The PORSCHE DESIGN HONOR Magic V2 RSR comes in the Porsche car color Agate Grey." And to complete the illusion, the default ringtone is the sound of a revving flat 6 engine, as found in the current Porsche 911 GT3 RS.

OK, so I made that last bit up, but wouldn't it be great if it was true?

A collaboration between a Porsche and a phone manufacturer isn't actually as implausible as it sounds. Porsche Design is a product design studio, and a separate subsidiary of Porsche SE, the sports car manufacturer. Porsche Design develops products such as Porsche-branded watches, clothing, and even e-bikes. It also designs products in collaboration with other manufacturers, like Porsche Design monitors in conjunction with AOC, and Porsche-themed gaming chairs based on Recaro racing seats.

So what do you get with a Porsche Design phone? Spoiler alert: not a sports car. The PORSCHE DESIGN HONOR Magic V2 RSR is actually just a top-spec (1TB) Honor Magic V2 phone, just with a new back panel which apparently looks like the hood of a Porsche 911. I'm actually a painfully boring car nerd, and am therefore quite familiar with the styling of the Porsche 911. But I just can't convince my uncooperative brain that this phone looks like a car. I'd imagine most of Honor's marketing department may have also struggled to see this 'phone=car' connection, which is why they deserve huge respect for doggedly thinking so far outside the box for their car-themed metaphors.

Such marketing vision doesn't come cheap, however. This may in part explain why the PORSCHE DESIGN HONOR Magic V2 RSR will launch in China (there's no word yet of an international release) with a price of RMB 15,999 (around USD $2,250). That's one hell of a premium over the otherwise identical Honor Magic V2, which at launch in July 2023 cost RMB 8,999 (USD $1,266). But then we're told this a pocket-sized sports car, so by that measure it's a bargain. Right?