Gadget Review New HONOR Magic 3: Stylish, sturdy, super-efficient - and the slimmest foldable phone in the world

Its ultra-slim edges, and smooth and rounded finish on all sides, coupled with a light 226-gram weight, give it the best handling characteristics of any folding phone out there

Ever since the launch of the first foldable mobile phone some time ago, these snazzy and trendy devices have really caught on, with users across the globe responding positively to the cool, sophisticated and capable gadgets.

But, desirable as it may be, what good is an advanced and sophisticated gadget if it handles like a brick - thick, ungainly and with sharp edges that bite into palms and poke into the edges of trouser pockets? This is where the new HONOR Magic V3 has the answer.

If the popular conception of a folding mobile phone is of a device that is thick, boxy and with edges more prominent than your average pocket writing pad, then this new flagship mobile phone from HONOR defies that conception with all of 9.2 millimetres of thinness when folded.

In a market getting increasingly crowded with foldable phones, the new HONOR Magic V3 is the thinnest inward foldable phone you can buy. Its ultra-slim edges, and smooth and rounded finish on all sides, coupled with a light 226-gram weight, give it the best handling characteristics of any folding phone out there.

One look at the new Magic V3 and you know that HONOR invested great effort in its looks and design; one touch and you know that the company placed equal importance on its feel, finish and form.

The folding mechanism seems like it’s built to last, with HONOR's Super Steel Hinge providing reassuringly sturdy opening and closing action. Indeed, it possesses a tensile strength of 2100MPa. By slimming down the hinge body thickness to an industry-leading 2.84mm, HONOR has made more space available for structural reinforcement in its supporting structure.

The proof of this pudding is in the testing, and HONOR has tested the hinge to withstand more than 500,000 folds. For perspective, this is equivalent to folding it 100 times every day for 13 years straight.

Supporting the sturdy hinge is the robust overall build quality and materials used, with the HONOR Magic V3 employing a special fibre on the back cover with a strength of 5800MPa. Surpassing materials like Kevlar and carbon fibre, it ensures both strength and minimal weight. There is also a correspondingly high waterproof rating of IPX8, which makes it more than capable of handling monsoon conditions. Meanwhile, an anti-scratch NanoCrystal Shield makes sure that both the screens retain their sparkling clear looks for a long time.

Speaking of the screens, there are, of course, two LTPO OLED displays - a 6.43-inch outer and 7.92-inch inner. They are both among the largest in the foldable phone world as HONOR has made no compromises with the overall dimensions of the device while developing the Magic V3.

Screen performance is impressively vibrant and sharp, with a 1~120Hz adaptive refresh rate, 4320Hz PWM Dimming, DCI-P3 wide colour gamut and support for 1.07 billion colours as well as Dolby Vision.

The smaller outer display is protected by King Kong Giant Rhino and the larger inner one by King Kong Flexible Armor. With brightness at 1800 nits in peak and up to 5000 nits in HBM (High Brightness Mode), there is no problem viewing either screen in the bright outdoors.

One of the reasons you would need to view the screen outdoors is to take pictures or shoot videos, and here HONOR has again pulled out all the stops, equipping the Magic V3's main camera array on the outside with a 50MP f/1.6 main (wide) sensor, another 50MP f/3.0 telephoto shooter, a 3.5x optical zoom, and a 40MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle lens with 112-degree FoV (Field of View).

These are all bunched up on a circular camera island that protrudes from the rear body, one look at which tells you that the cameras mean business on this phone. Also, given how thin the overall profile of this phone is, the protruding camera island acts as a wedge of sorts under the base when you set the phone down, making it lay at a slight incline that is easy to pick up again.

And, aside from the new bigger camera island, the two other cameras on board are capable ones, too. The selfie cameras on both the outer screen and the folding inner one, are each 20MP f/2.0 with 90-degree FoV.

Capable phones with all the bells and whistles, like massive screens and big camera arrays, need heavy-duty processing power to drive them, and, true to form, the HONOR Magic V3 is driven by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC processor with Adreno 750 graphics and a maximum 16GB of RAM, while the three storage options to choose from are 256GB, 512GB or 1TB.

Packing such a heavy-duty punch means that the Magic V3 needs a battery to match, which comes in the form of a 5150mAh Silicon-carbon battery with 66W wired and 50W wireless HONOR SuperCharge charging. This advanced battery technology Incorporates up to 10% silicon in the 3rd-generation of Silicon-carbon batteries, creating a robust electrochemical structure that significantly reduces battery size while maintaining excellent performance.

Helping to maintain that performance further is the cooling system. The Cicada Wing Titanium VC (Vapor Cooling) Chamber utilises titanium as the VC substrate to remain the industry's thinnest at 0.22mm. The heat dissipation area has increased by 22%, with a weight reduction of 40% and performance improvement by 53% over the previous generation. What this translates into is long hours of cool usage.

Packing such a power and performance punch means that the Magic V3's actual features and usage characteristics are among the most advanced and cutting edge of any phone out there. Driven by the Smart Magic OS, this phone packs a plethora of artificial intelligence (AI) enabled features.

The AI Eye Protection, for instance, is the world’s first AI technology to alleviate nearwork-induced transient myopia (NITM). HONOR utilises on-device AI to simulate the effects of retina defocus to help with myopia control. Along with other AI-empowered human-centric eye-comfort innovations, like 4320Hz Risk-free PWM Dimming, Dynamic Dimming, Circadian Night Display and Nature Tone Display, the HONOR Magic V3 offers one of the most comprehensive sets of eye comfort display features.

When it comes to photography and obtaining superior images, the Magic V3 offers AI-enhanced features such as HONOR AI Motion Sensing and the HONOR AI Portrait Engine, which produces masterful optical portrait shots with a natural bokeh effect that rivals professional cameras. HONOR also offers three bespoke Studio Harcourt photography modes - Harcourt Vibrant, Harcourt Colour and Harcourt Classic - all developed in collaboration with the iconic French portrait house Studio Harcourt.

Another AI-enabled feature, developed with technology from Google, is the AI Eraser, which allows users to remove unwanted objects from images utilising generative AI. This feature makes the use of the HONOR Magic-Pen stylus particularly helpful, with the sylus, which HONOR is offering bundled with the phone, becoming the ideal tool to select and erase the objects from images with a mere flick of the wrist.

With no slot within the Magic 3 phone to store it, the Magic-Pen comes with its own case. Whether doodling or drawing, and taking or editing notes, documents or pictures - and for various other tasks - it is the perfect tool that helps in precision usage of the phone.

Further on the AI front, the HONOR Magic 3 offers the Face to Face Translation feature, which makes it easy for users to communicate with people from different cultures who speak different languages by providing a real time translation feature through mobilising both displays of the HONOR Magic V3. Just fold the top half of the phone up so that the smaller outer display faces away from you and the larger bigger one towards you, select the language to translate to, and your words will be translated to that language and shown on the outer screen to the person you're having a conversation with - and vice versa. HONOR Notes is another advanced AI feature developed with technology from Google Cloud, offering voice-to-text, live translation and user identification capabilities.

The HONOR Magic V3 also uses its on-device AI to enable habit-based app recommendations on a user's homepage and organises the user’s pages based on app types. The phone also includes Parallel Space, allowing the user to effortlessly operate dual-space apps independently as if they had two phones. Further, the AI Privacy Call 2.0 feature can intelligently recognise the voice level and optimise sound leakage to your ears only. It also features two-way AI noise cancellation and voice filtering for clearer dialogue.

All of these features, and more, come at a price tag of Dh6,899, with the HONOR Magic 3 available to buy through the HONOR Online Store and select retailers across the UAE. There are three stunning colours to choose from, each inspired by nature: Reddish Brown, Green and Black.

HONOR is also offering free gifts worth Dh2,045 with every purchase, which include a HONOR Watch 4 smartwatch, Bose SoundLink Micro Speaker, in-car wireless charger, HONOR VIP Care+ and more. The phone is available online at https://bit.ly/3AKK53O, where HONOR is also offering a Dh300 discount with the code AIMAGICV3AE.

In conclusion, with its stylish, ultra-thin and lightweight design, AI enabled features, great screen and camera performance, and a general glamour quotient in a sturdy, durable and well-built package, the HONOR Magic 3 is instantly at the top of the picks for fold phones, while the bundled offers only make the deal sweeter.