Let’s be honest. In the world of tech journalism, we see a new phone launch almost every other week. We’ve become a bit jaded, haven’t we? We talk about incremental updates, minor camera bumps, and processors that are a few percentage points faster. But every once in a while, a device lands on our desk that genuinely makes us sit up and take notice. A device that feels less like an iteration and more like an invention.
For me, that device is the Honor Magic V5. And after a week of it being my primary phone, I can confirm the “Magic” in its name isn’t just marketing fluff. This phone has cast a powerful spell.
A Disappearing Act: So Thin, You’ll Forget It Folds
The incantation begins the moment you pick it up. My first thought wasn’t, “Wow, this is a thin foldable.” It was, “Wait, are you sure this is a foldable?” Closed, the Magic V5 is a mere 9.9mm thick. To put that in perspective, it’s thinner than many regular flagship phones on the market. It slipped into my jeans pocket without the awkward, bulky protrusion I’ve come to associate with book-style foldables. This isn’t just an engineering feat; it’s a paradigm shift. For the first time, I wasn’t carrying a “foldable phone“; I was just carrying a phone.
The cover screen is a generous 6.45-inch panel that feels, well, completely normal. I was firing off WhatsApp messages, scrolling through Instagram, and navigating with Google Maps without ever feeling like I was using a compromised, narrow secondary screen. This is the first part of the spell: making you forget the magic that lies within.
The Grand Reveal: A Tablet in Your Pocket
But then, you perform the grand reveal. You unfold it. The hinge mechanism is buttery smooth, opening with a satisfying firmness to reveal a glorious 7.92-inch tablet-sized display. And the crease? It’s the ghost at the feast – you know it’s there if you look for it at an angle, but in head-on use, it practically vanishes. I spent hours watching cricket highlights and binging “Panchayat” on this gorgeous inner screen, and the experience was nothing short of immersive. Multitasking became second nature; having a live news feed open on one side while drafting an email on the other felt like the future we were always promised.
Powering the Magic: Performance and Battery Life
A spell, however, is only as good as its staying power. I was skeptical about the battery. A device this thin, powering two large screens? Surely it would die by tea-time. I was wrong. The 5000mAh silicon-carbon battery consistently got me through a full, heavy day of use. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, while technically last year’s flagship, is no slouch either. From gaming to editing short videos for our social media, the phone never stuttered.
Every Spell Has Its Limits: Cameras and Compromises
Of course, no magic is perfect. The cameras, while very capable and delivering crisp, vibrant shots in good light, won’t be dethroning the camera juggernauts like the Samsung S24 Ultra or the Google Pixel 8 Pro. They are more than good enough for your social media and family pictures, but professional photographers might want more. The lack of an official IP rating for water resistance also means you’ll be a bit more careful during the monsoon season.
The Verdict: A Truly Magical Foldable
But these are minor quibbles in the face of its groundbreaking achievement. The Honor Magic V5’s ultimate trick is that it eliminates the compromise. You no longer have to choose between a thick, heavy foldable and a sleek, normal phone. With the Magic V5, you get both.
It’s a device that feels impossibly futuristic yet completely practical. It redefines what a foldable can be and, frankly, what it should be. The spell it casts is one of pure convenience and wonder. After a week, going back to a regular phone feels like a step back in time. The magic is real, and I’m completely under its spell.
