Honor Magic V5 Review with Camera Photos: Slimmer, Stronger, Better
Honor Magic V5
£1699.99 (before special offers)Pros
- Extremely solid and durable, inspiring confidence in day-to-day usage
- Exceptional battery life so you won't need to worry about anything (but it charges fast when you do need to recharge)
- Fast chipset, with great 5G speed, Wi-Fi 7, USB 3.1 and Bluetooth connectivity
- Seven years of OS and security updates (starting Android 15)
Cons
- Camera hump is quite significant, which impacts the thinnest phone message
- The supplied case doesn't protect the outer display like the V3 cover did
It’s never going to be easy to improve upon an almost perfect smartphone, but Honor takes the channel as it releases the successor to last year’s Magic V3. Read on to learn more about the Magic V5…

Let’s make it clear from the start that I’m a real fan of the Honor Magic V3. It’s the first foldable smartphone that I’ve used daily since last August, and it has never skipped a beat. It has been solid, dependable, and I’ve used it for taking countless photos and video.
Before the V3 came along, I handled all folding devices with kid gloves and certainly never risked going out with only this in my pocket, let alone later on taking it to the beach or on holiday hiking up mountains. But that’s what I did with the Magic V3, and it’s what I’ve been doing with the successor – the Honor Magic V5.
The Magic V2 was a great device too, but it lacked some things that tipped the scales – such as an IP rating, and wireless charging. The cameras on the V3 also upped the stakes in the camera imaging department.
Now the V5 has gone for a slimmer shell, an even better battery, faster chipset and an even more improved camera setup. On paper this looks like perfection, but is it? Let’s read on to find out.
Honor Magic V5 Screens & Design
The Magic V5 has a very similar form factor to the V3 before it, but is now just 8.8mm thick when folded (in the ivory white version – it’s 9mm for other colours, including the black model I reviewed here) and weighing in at 217g.
The internal screen is 7.95-inches with 5,000 nits of peak brightness, and the outer display is 6.43-inches. Screen refresh rates remain at 1-120Hz, with Dolby Vision support, as well as 4,320Hz ultra-high frequency PWM dimming, dynamic dimming and AI defocus display that aims to reduce eye fatigue.
This time around, there has clearly been a slight rearrangement of the internals because the volume keys are now situated on the same side as the fingerprint sensor power button. It took a little getting used to for adjusting volume, but only for a little while (the bigger issue being when swapping back and forth between devices, which few people will be doing).

With the V5 comes IP58 and IP59 ratings for dust and water protection, and the phone itself is a lot stronger and more durable than even the V3 (that was used to play table tennis at the launch event at IFA in Berlin last year, as well as being thrown around in a washing machine). The inner display has enhanced deformation resistance, and a new generation anti-scratch screen shield boosts drop protection by ten times (according to Honor; I didn’t try this myself).

Honor Magic V5 Camera
The Magic V2 camera experience was a typical example of all foldable cameras of the time; a bit of a disappointment but something you were expected to accept as a compromise for being able to squeeze everything into a small, folding, shell.
Then the V3 came along and the camera improvements were significant. With it came a bit of a camera hump, but the protective case soon solved that and gave you a nice ‘lip’ to support the phone in your hand when folded.
Roll on one more year and now the V5 has upped the specs in the camera department again, and Honor made it clear at the launch briefing that no longer should people have to accept compromise.
Now, there are still some differences between the V5 and the flagship Magic 7 Pro, but they’re reducing all the time.
What isn’t reducing all the time is the camera hump, which adds a noticeable bump to the back of the phone. Without the supplied protective case, it’s almost comical how much it sticks out (and somewhat makes the ultra-slim marketing seem silly) – but with the protective case attached, which no sane person would consider not fitting, it’s like previous phones that get a reassuring lip that helps you hold the phone comfortably in the hand in folded use.

Honor Magic V5 Camera Stats
- 64-megapixel periscope telephoto camera (3x optical zoom, f/2.5)
- 50-megapixel ultra-light sensitive Falcon main camera (f/1.6)
- 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera (f/2.0)
- AI features including AI Super Zoom and AI Enhanced Portrait + a wealth of AI editing features, including Google-powered Image to Video, AI cutout and AI eraser.
- 4K video capture at up to 60fps
The periscope camera enables up to 100x digital zoom, although this does rely on post-processing (including Honor’s clever AI enhancements to improve details on images in the realms of 50, 60 or the full 100x zoom). A standard setting can be selected on the main camera interface at 6x, which is likely ample for most day-to-day situations.
The camera interface retains all of the features from earlier Magic V-series phones, the number series (e.g. Honor 400 series) and the Magic 7 Pro, such as automatic capture of movements, smiles and so on. You can also take a rapid burst of high-resolution images, and all photos and video can be captured in HDR mode for the best range of colours and contrast.

For selfies and video calls, the Magic V5 includes a 20MP front-facing cameras on each display, with video recording supported in 4K at 30/60fps with gyro-EIS and OIS.
Honor Magic V5 Google Photos Gallery
Below is my latest Google Photos gallery, containing a large selection of photos I have taken with the Honor Magic V5 – but you can add your own photos (and videos) by clicking on the link below and joining it.













































































































































Honor Magic V5 Chipset and Performance

Powered this time by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC, with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, plus a Adreno 830 GPU, having just one configuration makes it easier than ever to decide what variant to get – just pick your preferred colour!
Honor has introduced some new software features to the foldable features from previous models, most notably the new Multi-flex feature that allows you to (in a style similar to Oppo and OnePlus foldables) scroll between three open windows when unfolded. This is in addition to the ability to run applications within windows, or a minimised state.
There’s also a bunch of AI features that have already appeared in previous Honor devices, and I won’t repeat all of them. There are a bunch of AI features for photo and video editing, which are all very good (but some will require the purchase of tokens to use, like the Image to Video feature seen above). There’s the excellent AI translation tools, the ability to take comprehensive notes in meetings, and deepfake detection.

Both the inner and outer displays can be used with Honor’s pen too, which may get bundled for free on some special offers for UK customers and possibly elsewhere.
Connectivity is also future-proofed, with support for the most 5G bands (12 in total), Wi-Fi 7 with 2.4, 5 and 6GHz support, and Bluetooth 6.0.
Like its predecessors, there are two physical nano SIM slots and eSIM support.
For battery charging, the 5,820mAH battery can be charged at 66W with a wired Huawei/Honor SuperCharge capable charger, or up to 50W wirelessly. The phone can also charge faster with the most recent USB Power Delivery standards.
The phone is as powerful as any other flagship, but like before, being released in the latter half of the year it will be a matter of months before the next Snapdragon Elite chipset makes its debut – meaning this phone will not be at the top of the tree for long. However, I wouldn’t consider this an issue given how powerful even the V3 and V2 before still are today.
We’re long past the days where you needed to always have the flagship hardware to be able to be the most productive. Obviously buying the V5, given the length of software support, gives you the best starting point hardware wise if you really are bothered.
Honor Magic V5 – In Summary
The improvements on the Magic V5 are relatively small, but do make a big difference. There’s definitely a boost in performance, but I didn’t find that the battery life was massively extended over the V3. However, that’s mostly because the V3 battery performs so well too. Neither phone will spark any battery anxiety issues, and you can happily use the V5 with all of the image enhancing features, full screen brightness and more for 6 or 7 hours or more screen-on-time without running out of power.
And when you do need to recharge, you have a fast wired or wireless choice to get you back to where you need to be.
It’s great that we’re now in this position with Honor’s range of phones – that beat Samsung, Apple and others (including Google) hands-down when it comes to using the best battery technology. You simply don’t need to worry at all about the battery, which for a foldable that has a large internal screen, is even more impressive.
The cameras are more versatile than even the V3 and you can feel the difference with the reduced thickness, even if I’m not all in on this arms race to make the thinnest foldable phone, any more than I have been with any phones. Give me more battery life any day. Oh, but Honor has managed that even with the thinner shell. Carry on.
I suspect Honor had to find an ‘angle’ on how to sell the V5, and making it the world’s thinnest foldable (even if this has been contested by others, albeit arguing over about 1mm) is one way to do the marketing.
The real benefits are that the Magic V5 makes it easier than ever to select a foldable over a traditional phone without compromising on functionality. The ruggedness also means you don’t need to do what I did early on, fearing every moment with the phone in case it broke. You can, within reason, chuck it around like any phone and it will not let you down.
I suppose I should add a disclaimer here and say that I’ve only had the V5 for a little under two months, but having used a V3 for a year, and the V5 having a number of technical improvements, I feel confident that Honor’s claims are legitimate. Should I experience anything negative, I’ll update the review accordingly.
A lot of the features on any new phone these days is in software, especially AI, which Honor likes to mention, a lot. Some of these features invariably trickle down to older models in time. Therefore I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that if the Magic V3 drops in price as it almost certainly will, you may wish to consider that over the V5 and save some more money.
However, given the excellent interest-free finance option on the V5, you might be able to get a Magic V5 for not a lot more per month. With the initial £300 discount, you could be getting the phone for just over £58 a month SIM-free over two-years.
With seven years of OS updates,I feel we’re reaching a point where flagships could probably be sold for longer than a year before being replaced. Of course carriers need new phones to sell, so I don’t see this happening anytime soon – but for now, the Magic V5 is just enough of an upgrade to make it one of the best folding smartphones on the market right now.
I have to ponder what Honor is going to do to improve things further with the V6 next year, because this is very much approaching total perfection.
Honor Magic V5 Key Specifications
| Honor Magic V5 | |
| Size/Weight | Unfolded: 156.8 x 145.9 x 4.1mm (white) or 4.2mm (other colours) Folded: 156.8 x 74.3 x 8.8mm (white) or 9.0mm (other colour) 217-222g (white + other colours) |
| Screen | Outer display: 6.43-inch AMOLED (1-120Hz) 10-Bit colour (1.07bn colours) with 5000 nits peak brightness 1060 x 2376 pixels Circadian Night Display Technology with 4320Hz PWM Dimming Inner display: 7.95-inch AMOLED (1-120Hz) 10-Bit colour (1.07bn colours) with 5000 nits peak brightness 2172×2353 pixels Circadian Night Display Technology with 4320Hz PWM Dimming |
| Audio | Stereo Sound |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite (3nm) Octa-core, Max freq 4.32GHz Adreno 830 GPU |
| RAM | 16GB (+ Honor RAM Turbo) |
| Storage | 512GB |
| Camera (selfie) | 20MP for each screen |
| Camera (rear) | Primary: 50-megapixel f/1.6 PDAF+OIS Ultra-wide: 50-megapixel f/2.0 AF Telephoto: 64-megapixel periscope camera (3x optical) f/2.5 4K Video recording Max 60fps |
| Connectivity | Tri-band Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) Bluetooth 6.0 5G NR (SA & NSA) Sub 6 4G+ with VoLTE, ViLTE and VoWiFi NFC USB-C 3.1, USB On-the-Go & DisplayPort 1.2 |
| Battery | 5,820mAh 66W fast-charging (SuperCharge protocol) wired [Not included with the device as standard, but may be included as part of a bundle offer] 50W wireless-charging with suitably compatible Huawei/Honor wireless charger, otherwise standard Qi speeds apply |
| Other | MagicOS 9 (Android 15) with seven years of OS and security updates Fingerprint sensor on power button + face unlock Factory fitted screen protectors Dual SIM (Dual Standby) + eSIM |
| Price | £1699.99 – Black, Dawn Gold or Ivory White colours for UK markets |
Honor Magic V5 Pricing and Availability

The Honor Magic V5 is available in the UK with just one specification; 16GB + 516GB.
It goes on sale from August 28th at a retail price of £1699.99, with initial offers including a £300 price discount (making it possible to get the phone for under £60 per month over 24 months, interest-free) and other free accessories included.
It will be available to buy through honor.com/uk (including with the ability to purchase over 24 months interest-free), as well as to buy at EE, O2, Three, Vodafone, Tesco Mobile, Argos, Currys, Amazon and Very – from August 29th.
Three colours will be available to choose from; Ivory White, Black and Dawn Gold.

You may have finally convinced me to get a foldable, the Huawei / Honor legacy beats strong in my heart.