Honor confirms its first-ever flip phone is on the way

It’s official: Honor is making a flip-style folding phone.

CEO George Zhao confirmed the news in an interview with CNBC at the MWC tech show in Barcelona.

Honor has already released three book-style foldables, the latest of which being the Magic V2. However, this new device will look and hopefully be priced very differently.

But what exactly can we expect? Here is everything we know at this point.

What will Honor’s flip phone be called?

Nothing has been revealed so far, but it’s almost certain to carry the ‘Magic’ name. That’s something we’ve seen on every mobile device that Honor has released.

The company’s book-style devices use ‘V’ branding, hinting at the shape it makes while unfolding. If Honor continues down that path, its flip phones could be known as ‘F’ devices.

Alternatively, it may simply be known as the ‘Honor Magic Flip’. We’ll have to wait and see.

When will the Honor flip phone be released?

Honor has not revealed a specific release date for its latest phone, though CEO George Zhao said in an interview with CNBC in February 2024 that the company was preparing for a launch “this year”.

He went on to say that it was “internally in the final stage”, so it seems highly likely that we’ll see an official launch before the end of 2024.

As for a more specific date, it’s almost impossible to predict. Something that is likely, given Honor’s track record, is an initial Chinese launch followed by a global release months later.

With that in mind, it might not arrive in Europe until early 2025, though that’s pure speculation at this stage.

However, Honor stresses that the brand’s focus is beginning to shift to the global market, so this year’s launch may be the one where the device is released at the same time in China, and Europe.

But has never released any of its products in the US, so don’t expect that to change.

How much will the Honor flip phone cost?

At this point, we have no official information on the price of the device. This will be the first device of its kind from the manufacturer, so we also have no way of basing its potential price on previous generations.

However, Honor’s latest book-style foldable, the Magic V2, costs less than its competitors from Samsung or Google.

We therefore expect the upcoming flip phone from Honor to cost below or at least the same as the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 (from $999.99/£1,049) and Motorola Razr 40 Ultra ($999/£1,049).

However, it’ll do well to be cheaper than the £799 regular Razr 40 in the UK.

What specs and features will the Honor flip have?

Honor has not confirmed any information about its upcoming flip phone.

However, Weibo leaker Digital Chat Station (via GSMArena) suggests that the first flip foldable from Honor will arrive with a 4,500mAh battery, which would be the highest capacity of any of these devices.

At the MWC 2024 tech show in Barcelona, Honor was focusing heavily on AI. Several features are coming to the flagship Magic 6 Pro, a regular slab phone, but it’d be a huge surprise if they didn’t come to its flip phone too.

In fact, Honor’s AI is only likely to get more sophisticated over time, so there may be new AI features by the time the flip phone launches.

Assuming the device is high-end, it’ll probably run either Qualcomm’s current Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 or upcoming 8 Gen 4. Expect the main display to be larger than the Magic V2‘s 6.43-inch cover screen and perhaps even bigger than the Magic 6 Pro‘s 6.8-inch panel.

In the same interview with CNBC, Honor CEO George Zhao revealed that the company is working on a smart ring that’ll likely go head-to-head with Samsung’s Galaxy Ring.

A release date for that is more uncertain than the flip phone, but they’re likely to work well together as part of Honor’s ecosystem.