Honor Magic V6 review: The Swiss army knife of foldables

While the Honor Magic V6 got a lot of attention at MWC earlier this year, it took its sweet time to reach UK shelves. Now, though, it's finally available to order across Europe, and it's aiming to be the very best foldable on the market.

Looking at the spec sheet, it may just be that. It has Qualcomm's most powerful chip inside, the biggest battery of any foldable so far, and some seriously well-equipped cameras. It's also the first folding phone to come with an IP69 rating for dust and water resistance.

On the other hand, the competition is stiffer than ever. There's the wildly impressive Oppo Find N6, for one, and Samsung (and maybe Apple?) are set to unveil their latest foldables in the coming months. Is the Honor Magic V6 enough to keep up? Let's dive in.

Specifications

Price & Availability

The Honor Magic V6 has an eye-watering £1999.99 MSRP in the UK, which is a significant increase over the Magic V5's £1699.99 price tag. However, for a limited time, you can nab it for just £1499.99, and if you get it on the Honor UK site, they'll throw in £500 worth of freebies.

So, that makes discussing the pricing a little tricky. On one hand, the big (likely RAM shortage-induced) price hike is a tough pill to swallow, but on the other, the introductory price is a solid deal. If you're keen on this phone, it probably makes sense to jump in early.

At full retail, the Magic V6 is one of the priciest book-style foldables around. But we don't know what Samsung's next-gen pricing looks like yet, and the way things are trending, that won't come cheap, either.

Design

The Honor Magic V6 has a similar overall design to the Magic V5, but there are a few visual differences to set it apart. Firstly, there's a new shape to the camera bezel, which now has a more angular octagonal design.

The cover screen is now completely flat, and it has a more symmetrical shape, with matching curved corners on every side. The hinge still sticks out a little, with its squared-off corners, but there's not a lot that can be done to remedy that.

As always, there are some fresh colour options to further differentiate the two models. I have the gold version in for testing, and it's pretty boujie. It has a shiny golden back panel with a subtle repeating triangular pattern across it, and a matching pattern on the hinge.

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It reminds me of Ferrero Rocher packaging, and when combined with the included cream leather-effect case, it gives off designer handbag vibes. You get the idea, it's fancy and shiny. Despite the glossy surfaces, though, it's completely immune to fingerprint smudges, so it'll keep up appearances even when you've been using it for hours.

The red model is the standout, in my opinion. It has a deep blood-red shade to the rear panel, complete with a textured finish that looks a bit like craft paper. However, if you're more concerned about dimensions than colours, you'll want to go for the white one, as that's the slimmest of the bunch.

Speaking of which, this is one of the thinnest foldables on the market, to the point where it's noticeably slimmer than some flagship Ultra bar-phones. I'm not convinced it's any slimmer than the Galaxy Z Fold 7, but who really cares? It's slim enough to feel great in your pocket, and that's all that matters.

Now, these svelte dimensions might lead you to expect a fragile device, but thankfully, that's not the case. In fact, it's quite the opposite. The Honor Magic V6 has the highest IP rating of any foldable to date, IP69, which means it's effectively immune to dust and water (except for salt water).

It's also built with toughness in mind. It has NanoCrystal scratch-resistant glass on the cover screen and an impact-resistant Super Steel hinge. SGS has awarded it 5 stars for drop resistance, too. As ever, the foldable screen will be the weak point, but otherwise, it should handle some rough treatment without issue.

Both screens are super impressive, but the highlight is the almost 8-inch foldable panel. It's a 120Hz OLED with a supposed peak brightness of 5000 nits, and it's more than bright enough for outdoor use. The square-ish aspect ratio makes it excellent for displaying two apps side by side, and it's a great way to review and edit your photos, too.

There is a crease, but it's impressively shallow, and until recently, I would have said it's one of the best I've ever seen. Unfortunately for Honor, the Oppo Find N6 is in a completely different league, and having used that as my daily driver for months, this isn't too exciting. That said, the N6 isn't officially available in most Western countries, and this is probably the most crease-free foldable that's sold in the UK.

The cover display is also fantastic, boasting an even higher peak brightness. The aspect ratio is very slightly narrower than most flagship bar-phones, but other than that, there's very little difference. There's no downside to using the outer display most of the time, and only opening the hinge when you need some extra real estate - and that's exactly what I found myself doing.

It's also worth mentioning the speakers, as they're quite decent. There's a bit of bass response, and they project a wide soundstage that's great for gaming and movie immersion. They're not as impressive as the Honor Magic 8 Pro speakers, but considering the size constraints, Honor has done a remarkable job.

Camera Performance

The Honor Magic V6 appears to have identical camera hardware to last year's V5. So, while there's nothing to get too hyped up about, the V5 already had some of the best cameras on a foldable, and the competition hasn't been pushing in that direction too much. These snappers are likely still among the best.

On the rear, there are three cameras. You get a 23mm equivalent 50MP main camera with a fairly large 1/1.56-inch sensor, a 64MP 70mm periscope with a 1/2-inch sensor, and a dramatic 15mm ultrawide camera. There's also a 20MP punch-hole selfie camera on each screen.

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As is often the case, the main camera is the best-equipped and provides the most consistent results across all lighting conditions. It's the sharpest, and its large sensor handles dim conditions better than the other lenses, resulting in less motion blur.

However, the telephoto camera is no slouch, and it's likely the best telephoto on any foldable phone right now. The sizable 1/2-inch sensor, combined with the 70mm lens, creates some lovely compression and background softening for close-up shots. And while I wouldn't necessarily call it a macro camera, it can get closer than most. It's able to focus from around 20cm away, and when combined with some digital zoom, you can get stunning close-ups.

Long-range zoom is more hit-and-miss, but I was able to get usable results up until around 20x. Going beyond that range, images start to look very unnatural - especially if you toggle on Honor's AI Zoom enhancement feature. Sure, it'll clean up the pixellation, but it also makes up details and isn't very photo-like.

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The ultrawide is the least impressive of the trio. On the plus side, it's super-wide, so you can get loads in the frame, and you can get some fun distorted angles with it. It also has autofocus, so you can use it for macro shots, if you fancy. On the other hand, it's not very sharp, and the tiny sensor struggles in the dark.

The twin selfie cameras are fine, but they're nothing too special. There's a noticeable drop in quality compared to the rear cameras, but for video chats, they get the job done nicely - and they're still better than most laptop webcams. Since this is a foldable, if you want excellent selfies, your best bet is to unfold the device and use the rear cameras instead.

Honor's default colours are a little too saturated and punchy for my tastes, but thankfully, there are lots of picture styles available, and they change the look quite dramatically. I'm really fond of the Nostalgic Negative mode, which produces moody high-contrast images with cool tones in the shadows - it looks especially good at night.

The Studio Harcourt portrait mode is also available on this phone, and it can take some super-impressive, highly stylised snaps with either the main or telephoto cameras. You can also digitally crop up to 6x, if your subject is a little further away.

Overall, I'm really impressed with the cameras on the V6. My only real complaint is that I seem to get a lot of motion blur when using portrait mode, and it's much less of a problem in the other modes. I hope Honor can figure that out, as otherwise, it's a really strong camera system.

For video shooting, the Honor Magic V6 supports up to 4K 60fps on all the rear cameras, and 4K 30fps on the selfie cameras. Stabilisation is strong, and the microphones are very decent, too. I was a little disappointed, having used the Find N6 so much, that there are no 4K 120fps options, and the Log profile only works on the main camera. But, to be fair, these features are niche, and most casual users won't mind.

Phone Performance

The Honor Magic V6 is powered by Qualcomm's most powerful chip, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, and that means, no matter what you demand of it, this phone can likely keep up. For the global launch, it's paired with 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM.

Performance has been great throughout my testing. I demand a lot from foldable phones, often running two or three apps side-by-side and streaming music or a YouTube video at the same time, and this phone can do it without issue. It always feels smooth, no matter what I'm doing.

It can game pretty well, too. I've been playing NTE, a graphically challenging title with a large open-world city map, and while some phones struggle, the V6 powers through it. It ran the game on the "Extreme" preset at 60fps quite solidly, and though it got hot after a while, especially around the camera area, the performance didn't seem to drop.

The phone runs MagicOS 10, Honor's customised version of Android 16. Stylistically, it's very Apple-influenced. There's a Dynamic Island clone, some Liquid Glass-like elements, and even a Standby mode - but almost all of this is optional.

Where MagicOS excels is with its customisation options. You can tweak and change most things in this OS, so even if it's not your vibe by default, you can probably configure it to your tastes. It's also absolutely packed with features, including all the latest AI-powered tricks like translation, transcription, image generation and writing assistance.

What I found most interesting, though, is the way the Honor Magic V6 works with Apple products. As a MacBook and Android user, I often face hurdles, but the Magic V6 makes life much easier. If you install Honor Workspace from the Mac App Store, you can share your clipboard, transfer files, and even use your Magic V6 as a wireless secondary display - it's very cool.

The Magic V6 can also natively browse and share to iCloud accounts, and you can wirelessly transfer files to and from iPhones with Honor Connect. If you're currently an Apple person, this phone will make transitioning out of the walled garden much easier.

The problem I have with MagicOS is the same as it ever was. The OS kills background apps like crazy to save on battery life, and this can lead to delayed or undelivered notifications from important apps. It's fixable, but you need to dive into some settings menus to sort it out, and that's a hassle you don't get elsewhere.

Lastly, we need to talk about the battery. The Honor Magic V6 has a mammoth 6660 mAh battery inside its skinny frame, the biggest of any foldable I have used to date. As you might expect, this results in brilliant battery life.

Most of the time, I get about a day and a half's use from a charge. Of course, battery life always depends on your usage, and if I were playing demanding games or shooting lots of video, it didn't last quite as long, but it never failed to get me to the end of the day, despite using the larger fold-out screen at every opportunity.

Charging is super quick, too. It supports up to 80W speeds with a wire, and I found I could go from flat to around 70% charged in just half an hour. If you like wireless charging, that's also super quick, at up to 66W. Neither adapter is included in the box, though, just a USB-C cable.

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Final Verdict

The Honor Magic V6 is a pleasure to use, and it's easily one of the best foldable phones on the market today. It has the best battery, the cameras are among the best, and it should be one of the most durable, too.

The pricing complicates things a little, though. At the introductory price of £1499.99, it's a solid deal, but the full MSRP of £1999.99 is tough to stomach. I think the stiffest competition comes from Honor itself. The Honor Magic V5 feels almost identical in use, and you can currently grab that for just £1099.99. The biggest downside to doing so is losing out on that larger battery, but it's still super powerful and has almost identical cameras.

You should also factor in that Samsung is likely to launch its next foldables in the next month or so, and then maybe Apple, too. The competition is about to get very interesting, and personally, I'd hold off and see what they bring to the table.

With all that said, if you need a foldable phone right now, it's hard to fault the Honor Magic V6. It's an excellent all-rounder that doesn't fall short in any particular area. Whether you're looking to shoot impressive photos, get work done on the go, or play some games, you're in for a good time with this one.

Alternatives

Oppo Find N6

The closest competitor to the V6 is Oppo's Find N6. Its defining feature is the almost completely crease-free display, but it also pulls ahead with its pro-video features. Unfortunately, its global availability is severely limited, so most of our readers will struggle to get their hands on it.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7

The Z Fold 7 needs no introduction. It's the most popular foldable in the world for good reason, with class-leading software and lovely hardware. Personally, I prefer the Honor cameras, and it can't match the battery life, but it's still an excellent alternative.