Last year, I reviewed the HONOR Magic V5 and gave it high marks for its affordability and powerful internals in comparison to its nearest rival, the Samsung Fold7. Now, HONOR is releasing the Magic V6, first in China, and then sometime in H2 2026. I don"t have a solid date on either.
As such, HONOR is not allowing full reviews until the second half of the year, even though it will be available to purchase from this month in China, and as we saw with the V5, everything was known about it when it eventually launched last August in London at an event I was there for. If we go by that release, then we can expect it to officially land in Europe sometime in August.
Before we get underway, here is a disclaimer: HONOR provided a sample without any review or pre-approval.
First up, let"s dive into the specs:
Introduction
As I mentioned, I am only allowed to show off certain details of the Magic V6 which include an unboxing, the full specifications, design, durability, and details about the battery and aspects of the AI-capabilities, but nothing about the OS, this is because HONOR has stated that it does not yet include a "final" version of MagicOS; so basically not all of the phone"s features are not completely aligned with the software yet.
Pricing for the Magic V6 was not made available to me, but if we go by last year, it was £1,699.99 or €1,999.90 which, although expensive, is still quite a bit less than the Galaxy Fold7"s comparative pricing of £1,899 with 4GB less memory. A foldable is not for everyone, but for those that must have it, the Magic V5 offered flagship spec at the lowest price of its nearest rival. We can probably expect a similar pricing this time around, but we"ll have to wait and see.
First, a couple of notes about the specs: The Magic V6 is said to support a Stylus, but this is not included in the box, and sadly, it will only work with the HONOR Magic-Pen stylus which adds £79.99 or €99,00 (€149,90 in France) to the total price.
Looking at the specs on paper, this aligns with most of the quality flagships already released in the latter half of 2025, and so far in 2026 and probably even exceeds in some areas, like the ample-sized battery and 80W (66W wireless) charging for one.
For me, 2025 was my year of the foldables. I managed to secure a Magic V5, which I used as my daily for a couple of months, and I also had a hands-on with the Fold7, which I did not like. My first impressions of the Magic V6 are positive, and let me just cut straight to the chase, it"s all down to the hinge, which I will talk about later.
I"ll just say what others have already been saying online: yeah, the Magic V6 looks a lot (almost identical) to the Magic V5. Most of the improvements are in the internals, and yes, HONOR still managed to shave off a few millimeters here and there to make it even thinner and lighter than its predecessor; but lets be real for a moment we"re at a stage where phones now receive incremental updates, the revolution of near bezel-less displays and ever thinner phones can only go so far. There"s a reason Samsung dropped the Galaxy Edge series after just one iteration: people didn"t care for it.
What"s in the box
- HONOR Magic V6
- USB Type-C Cable x 1
- Quick Start Guide x 1
- Eject Tool x 1
- Inner screen protective film (Attached to the phone before delivery) x 1
- External screen protective film (Attached to the phone before delivery) x 1
- Warranty Card x 1
- PU Case x 1
This time around I got to experience the full unboxing experience (the Magic V5 I reviewed was repurposed and did not come in the original box or include any accessories) and no I did not film the process, sorry.
Company claims
I"ll start off by adding some of the claims to fame that HONOR itself says about the Magic V6 that deserve a mention. Also, because AI is creeping into our lives more and more with each new tech gadget release.
Alongside the inclusion of Google Gemini, other highlighted AI features are:
- Call Translation
- AI Translation
- AI Writing
- Magic Portal
- AI Deepfake Detection
- Detects AI deepfake scams, safeguarding your personal security (in video chats).
- AI Meeting Agent
- AI Suggestions
Smart Features
- Multi-Flex
- Parallel Space
- Magic Capsule
- Sync to iOS
Syncing with Apple (and Windows)
A lot of effort has been made to make the Magic V6 work well with Apple devices. The company claims that HONOR Connect will enable two-way notification sync with an iPhone and iPad, while the Apple Watch will be able to display messages and notifications from both devices. Sort of what we expect from Phone Link to and from Android.
In addition, there are two apps: HONOR Connect for iPhone/iPad, which enables two-way notification sync, and HONOR WorkStation for Apple Mac and Windows PCs. However, the link for Windows PCs does not work, so I was unable to download it. HONOR WorkStation looks a bit like a cross-device implementation of Magic Ring, which I detailed in the Magic V5 review.
I"ll be able to test HONOR WorkStation and HONOR Connect (I have an iPhone SE2 backup phone) and share my findings with the full review later this year.
Design
The front screen is made up of HONOR"s own proprietary glass, which is called NanoCrystal Shield, and around the sides is made up of an aluminum housing. The metal around the side and antenna lines is sort of iPhone-esque if you ask me. However, as I have always experienced with smartphones, it all ends up feeling like it will slip out of my hand without a case, as the back is quite slippery.
On the rear, it looks textured, but it isn"t; it"s just a nice golden finish. The camera array consists of a triple camera setup: 50MP wide, 50MP ultrawide, and a 64MP telephoto camera flanked by a slightly more circular outer ring which looks quite nice, if you"re paying attention, the main camera is quite a bit less than the 200MP main camera on the Magic8 Pro. Centered between the bottom two cameras is an LED flash. The camera array looks the same as on the Magic V5, although the Ultra Wide received a small update from f/2.0 to f/2.2 for a larger field of view.
On the right side of the phone, you will find the volume rocker and a power key that doubles as a fingerprint reader and action button. The keys are almost flush with the frame. Both buttons are completely smooth.
On the left side, there are no openings at all, and what covers the hinge is completely smooth, although it looks textured.
On the bottom, from left to right, there"s the SIM tray, a USB Type C charger port for the included 1 m USB Type C-to-USB Type C cable, and a speaker grill, on the outer display bottom there are two mic holes. Those white lines are antenna lines.
The top of the Magic V5 has another speaker grill and another mic hole. On the front of the device and in the camera cutout, you"ll find the 20 MP front-facing camera (also on the interior screen). There is no notification LED, which is actually redundant thanks to full always-on-display (AOD) support.
I would have liked to have seen an under-display camera, at least on the interior display, but it is what it is.
It is thinner
HONOR managed to shave off 0.1mm while the phone is unfolded across all colors, now boasting just 4.1mm thickness on Black, Gold, Red, and 4.0mm in the White variant. When unfolded, the Magic V6 retains its overall 9.0mm thickness in the Black, Gold, and Red variants, while with the White version, HONOR managed to shave off another 0.05mm, now totaling 8.75mm, which is impressive given that the Magic V6 has a larger battery capacity than its predecessor. That weight also feels like it is distributed evenly across the phone, in spite of its relatively large camera hump that adds just over half a centimeter when the phone is lying on a flat surface.
Even when holding one-handed and unfolded, the weight feels uniform and not lopsided. I am right-handed, so I am typically holding the left half of the phone with my left hand, which means the camera hump is on the right side, and it still does not feel uneven.
Display
The LTPO 2.0 OLED 6.52-inch cover screen has a 1080 x 2420 screen resolution, with a 406 PPI pixel density, a 20:9 aspect ratio (up from LPTO OLED, 6.43 inches, 1060 x 2376 pixels, 404 ppi with 19.5:9 aspect ratio), 5000-nit peak brightness, and "NanoCrystal Shield" protection. The inner screen is mostly unchanged from last year and has a 2172 x 2352 resolution with a 403 PPI pixel density, a 4:3 aspect ratio, protected by HONOR Super Armored. However, the screen received a slight bump to 6000-nit peak brightness (from last year"s 5000-nits).
Both displays support HDR content. I found the screen to be excellent, vibrant, and bright enough all the time I was using it in Adaptive refresh rate mode, which automatically adjusts the refresh rate between 1-120Hz depending on the app being used.
Stand
The Magic V6 also comes with a "PU Case" in the box, but really it"s a high-quality case with a sort of faux leather rear and stand that flanks the camera array; this can be swung out to prop up the phone. Aside from also featuring a complete hinge protection, which should increase durability, as it pretty much envelopes it, it results in a much more comfortable and less slippery grip.
Durability
Speaking of durability, HONOR states that the unfolded display is 33% more impact-resistant than Magic V5’s, and with a 44% reduction in crease depth, which is for most a pain point in foldables. Moving onto the internals, the Magic V6 boasts a 2800 MPa hinge tensile strength and was tested to 500,000 folds.
And this is where we come to the hinge test.
Personally, I think the hinge on the Magic V6 is wonderful. It takes very little effort to unfold, unlike my experience with the Magic V5, which I found tough to open with my large hands and fingers. There are no in-depth details shared about the hinge other than what I"ve already shared, but you can view the video above. There"s little to no resistance on unfolding. It"s still spring-loaded, so it will still snap shut. It"s kind of hard to explain. I hope the above video speaks more than I can put into words.
Certifications
While the Magic V5 featured IP58 and IP59 certification, the Magic V6 can now boast IP68 and IP69 dust and water resistance ratings, which brings it in line with today’s leading flagship bar phones like the Magic8 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy series. Basically, it has the same sort of resistance as most candybar flagship smartphones on the market, which is quite an achievement for a foldable that, in itself, has a constantly moving mechanical part, unlike the Magic8 Pro.
Battery
HONOR has another claim to fame, it includes the largest ever battery in a foldable. If you thought last year"s was impressive, look again. The Magic V6 has a whopping 6660mAh battery. For those keeping score, that"s 2,260mAh more than the Samsung Galaxy Fold7 at 4400mAh, and 1660mAh more than the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, which was announced earlier this week.
HONOR says that it managed to increase energy density by raising the silicon content to 25%, which supposedly far surpasses the 16% industry standard amongst competing flagship batteries. In addition, the Magic V6 supports up to 80W wired and 66W wireless fast charging, up from 66W wired and 50W wireless on the Magic V5.
At MWC, HONOR also showed off new innovations in battery density, claiming to achieve 32% silicon content and 900+ Wh/L. This will enable foldables to enter the 7000mAh era, a sign of things to come, perhaps a Magic V7, with a 7,000mAh rated battery?
Conclusion
That"s it for now. I will be sharing the full review at a later date. If there"s anything in particular you would like me to test, you can make a comment, and I will do my best to accommodate it.