Honor’s Magic V3 launches in Europe as the world’s thinnest foldable

Honor is back with another new foldable in Europe, and the new Magic V3 is better than ever.

The successor to the Magic V2 offers several improvements over its predecessor and also appears globally much sooner after its initial launch. However, the design is its big selling point – this is the thinnest foldable ever made.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Magic V3.

When was the Honor Magic V3 released?

The Honor Magic V3 was first launched in China on 12 July 2024.

The global launch then took on 5 September 2024 at the IFA 2024 trade show in Berlin. It’s available to buy now from the Honor website in the UK and via Amazon, Argos and Very.

On contract, it’s available via O2 and Three right now, with EE and Vodafone to come at a later date.

As with all Honor products, the Magic V3 won’t be available in the US.

As a reminder, here’s when recent generations were released:

• Honor Magic V2 – July 2022 (China), January 2023 (Europe)
• Honor Magic Vs – November 2022 (China), February 2024 (Europe)

How much does the Honor Magic V3 cost?

In the UK, the Honor Magic V3 costs £1,699, for a model with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.

For context, here’s how it compares to previous models:

• Honor Magic V2 – £1,699.99/€1,999
• Honor Magic Vs – £1,399/€1,599

Crucially, the Magic V3 remains cheaper than key rivals in the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 (from £1,799/$1,899) and Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold (from £1,749/$1,799).

What specs and features does the Honor Magic V3 have?

Design

The Honor Magic V3 is one of the world’s thinnest foldable smartphones, measuring 9.2mm when folded and just 4.35mm when unfolded, and weighs 226g. Its dimensions are 156.6×145.3mm when unfolded and 156.6×74mm when folded.

YouTuber SuperSaf talked more about this in his collaboration video with Honor prior to the launch:

The biggest rival in this aspect is the latest Galaxy Z Fold 6, which measures 12.1mm when folded and 5.6mm when unfolded. Honor has managed to beat Samsung and, what’s interesting, has issued an apology to all Samsung foldable owners.

Honor’s apology, recognising the apparent inconvenience caused to Samsung customers who purchased a bulkier alternative, is engraved on the 2.84mm hinge of some Magic V3 models. The 166-word apology was crafted by micro-artist Graham Short, who spent 90 hours engraving it by hand, using diamond-tipped pins due to the phone’s durable material.

Although the engraving can only be seen under a microscope, you will find the full text below:

Dear Samsung Galaxy Z Fold owners, we’re sorry. We know you were excited to buy a phone that folds in half and fits in your pocket, awkwardly. You were promised the future, a technical marvel, a world of boundless multitasking and performance.

And now, you’re probably looking at the new HONOR Magic V3 and feeling a little… betrayed. Size matters, and we feel your pain. Like being tipped for a gold medal and then coming last in the race, the knowledge that a thinner, lighter, and more durable foldable exists is enough to make anyone question their choices.

We get it. You were an early adopter, a pioneer bravely venturing into the uncharted territory of foldable screens with questionable durability. You deserve better. In fact, you deserve a gold medal.

In all seriousness, we at HONOR are committed to pushing the boundaries of technology and bringing you the best possible foldable experience. We’re just saying… it’s okay to feel let down. We’d feel the same way.

Honor

The Chinese version of the device is available in four colours: Green, White, Black and Red. The Red variant features a faux leather panel and a golden frame, giving it a luxurious aesthetic. The global version, however, is only available in Black, Green and Reddish Brown finishes.

The phone includes dual stereo speakers, a side-mounted fingerprint sensor and a feature to prevent sound leakage during phone calls. It also boasts IPX8 water resistance, meaning it offers flagship-level water resistance but no official protection against dust.

Display

The Honor Magic V3 features a 7.92-inch OLED main display with a resolution of 2156×2344 pixels, a 120Hz refresh rate, a maximum brightness of 1600 nits and 3840Hz PWM dimming technology. It’s also covered with the Honor Anti-scratch NanoCrystal Shield and offers stylus support.

The cover display is a 6.43-inch OLED with a resolution of 1060×2376 pixels, a 120Hz refresh rate, a maximum brightness of 5000 nits and 4320Hz PWM dimming.

Performance

Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, the Honor Magic V3 is expected to offer top-tier performance.

While the Chinese version also offer 16GB of RAM and more storage option, the global version comes only with 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage.

Cameras

The camera setup on the Honor Magic V3 is impressive on paper, featuring an advanced triple-lens system. The main camera is a 50Mp sensor with an f/1.6 aperture and optical image stabilisation (OIS).

There’s also a 50Mp telephoto lens with 3.5x optical zoom and an f/3.0 aperture, and a 40Mp ultrawide lens with a 112° field of view and an f/2.2 aperture.

For selfies, the device has 20Mp cameras on both the internal and external displays, each with a 90° field of view and an f/2.2 aperture.

Both rear and front cameras offer video recording resolution up to 4K (3840 × 2160).

Battery & Charging

The Honor Magic V3 is equipped with a 5150mAh battery that supports 66W wired fast charging and 50W wireless charging.

That’s a slightly larger capacity than the Magic V2, which already offered excellent battery life. Charging speeds are unchanged.

Software

The phone runs on Android 14 with Honor’s MagicOS 8.0.1.

However, there are also plenty of AI features, including AI Eraser and Face-to-face Translation, as well as Honor’s privacy-focused Parallel Space, Magic Capsule, and more.

Connectivity options include Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC and two-way satellite connectivity. It also has a USB 3.1 Type-C port with DisplayPort 1.2 support.

That’s all Honor unveiled about the Magic V3. Be sure to check out our round-up of the best foldable phones to see what this phone will be up against.