HONOR Magic V6 Review — The Best Foldable HONOR Has Made, at Its Most Expensive Price Yet

Unboxing the HONOR Magic V6

The HONOR Magic V6 arrives in a hard black box with the product name prominently displayed in the centre, framed by an octagonal ring that mirrors the design of the rear camera module. It is simple, restrained, and sturdy enough that you feel confident the contents survived shipping without issue. Inside the box you get the phone itself, an 80W HONOR SuperCharge charger, a USB-C cable, a SIM ejector tool, a protective case, and documentation.

The inclusion of an 80W charger in the box is a meaningful practical detail that not every premium brand bothers with at this price point, and the protective case being in the box rather than a paid accessory is appreciated on a phone this expensive. Our review unit is in Ferghana Red, one of four color options alongside Ivory White, Sunrise Gold, and Classic Black.

Walkaround

The HONOR Magic V6 in Ferghana Red leans into a distinctly premium aesthetic. The matte red rear has a pleasant suede-like texture that reads almost like redwood in warm light, while the octagonal camera module trim and the golden accents along the hinge and frame give it a watch-inspired quality that is bold and deliberate. It will not appeal to everyone, but it commands attention in a way that most foldables do not.

What sets the Magic V6 apart beyond aesthetics is how closely it approximates the form factor of a conventional premium smartphone when folded. At 219 grams for the Ferghana Red unit and 8.75mm to 9mm thick when folded depending on the color, it is lighter than several premium bar-type phones and comparable in thickness to current flagship handsets. For context, Ivory White is both the lighter and thinner of the variants. This is not a trivial achievement for a foldable, and it directly affects how comfortable the phone is to use and carry daily.

The hinge mechanism is smooth, precise, and inspires confidence. HONOR has upgraded to a Super Steel Hinge this generation, and the improvement in tactile quality is noticeable. The phone sits flat when fully open, the hinge holds any angle securely when partially folded, and the overall mechanism feels meaningfully more refined than earlier generations.

The 7.95-inch inner AMOLED display is protected by HONOR’s Super Armored Inner Screen with anti-reflective coating, and the crease depth has been reduced by 44 percent compared to the previous generation according to HONOR. In practice, the crease is noticeably shallower and less visible when viewing content head-on, though it remains discernible at certain angles and by touch. It is an improvement, but it has not reached the near-invisible standard set by the very best in this category.

IP68 and IP69 ratings against dust and water resistance are a first for HONOR’s foldable line and place it at the highest certified protection level among Android foldables at the time of writing. For a phone you are likely using in a wider variety of situations than a typical smartphone, this is a genuinely meaningful upgrade.

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Build quality throughout is excellent. The aluminum alloy frame, the premium finish of the rear panel, and the overall structural integrity of the phone when both folded and unfolded communicate the kind of craftsmanship expected at RM7,699.

Specifications

Camera

The triple rear camera system, anchored by a 50MP main sensor with OIS and a 64MP periscope telephoto with 3x optical zoom and CIPA 6.5-grade stabilisation, is one of the more versatile setups available in the foldable category. The main camera delivers balanced, well-exposed images with strong edge-to-edge sharpness, and the 3x optical zoom telephoto produces sharp results at its native focal length.

The 50MP ultrawide with autofocus rounds out the system usefully. Color science leans toward accuracy and naturalness rather than dramatic processing, which suits different use cases differently but keeps images looking true to life. Both inner and outer cameras are 20MP, making video calls and selfies consistently capable regardless of which display you are using.

Performance

The HONOR Magic V6 seemingly underperformed in Antutu v11, considering that it’s using a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip. Given how much lower it scored than other devices running the same chip, this isn’t a good look. The device itself didn’t feel particularly hot but there is a likely chance that thermal issues caused the performance to sink quite a bit. We even broke down its performance in all individual segments, and it suffered in all of them.

In Geekbench 6, we see a similar pattern yet again. We know for sure that it’s capable of a whole lot more but given how hot the chip generally is, perhaps it’s a mixture of being tuned down for better efficiency but heat still caused enough of an issue that it thermal throttled during testing. Sure, HONOR did boast a vapor chamber cooling system but it can only do so much against such a hot chip.

As for 3DMark, things look promising for the HONOR Magic V6 as it performed on par with other Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 devices in Raster, but more on par with last year’s Elite chip in Ray Tracing. As I suspected, thermal throttling is a huge issue here as it couldn’t complete the stability test without overheating. This is the first time we’ve ever received such a result after reviewing countless devices over the years, and it explains why we got rather low scores in earlier benchmarks.

GPUScore Sacred Path paints a similar picture to the Raster portion of 3DMark, where the HONOR Magic V6 performed really well overall. This shows that its strength isn’t a fluke, and it is indeed capable of doing a lot, but it’s currently being held back by thermal limitations.

Lastly on PCMark in its Work 3.0 benchmark, it performs on par for a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 smartphone. It’s also interesting that there are devices that ran worse than it despite running the same chip, but it’s not a big enough difference that you’d be able to tell on a day-to-day use case.

As for battery life, we managed to get 17 hours and 9 minutes when folded while unfolded sees a significant drop to 10 hours and 31 minutes. It’s a decent improvement over its predecessor, and it’s natural for the battery life to be shorter when unfolded as a bigger screen would use up more energy. Personally for me, it’s in the realm of great but far from the best, and if you find yourself using the bigger screen often, best to keep a powerbank with you wherever you go. For charging speed, here’s what we got using its 80W charger starting from 2% battery life:

• 15 minutes = 33% battery
• 30 minutes = 56% battery
• Full charge = 1 hour and 12 minutes

Keep in mind that some regions do get a 120W charger inside the box, which will charge the device faster.

The Good

A Foldable That Feels Like a Premium Smartphone

The combination of a 219g weight, 8.75mm folded thickness, IP68 and IP69 water resistance, and a Super Steel Hinge means the Magic V6 has largely closed the gap between foldable and conventional flagship phones in terms of everyday usability and durability. Carrying and using it daily no longer requires the same mental adjustments that earlier foldables demanded, and the IP69 rating in particular is a first for this category that adds genuine peace of mind.

Two Exceptional Displays

The 7.95-inch inner display is vibrant, color-accurate, and smooth, with a truly adaptive refresh rate that scales dynamically between 1Hz and 120Hz. The 4,320Hz PWM dimming is a thoughtful inclusion for users sensitive to display flicker. Color accuracy is excellent, and the anti-reflective coating reduces glare in outdoor conditions.

The 6.52-inch cover display is even brighter at 6,000 nits peak, making it clearly legible in direct sunlight, and its standard 21:9 aspect ratio makes single-handed use for messaging, email, and everyday tasks entirely natural. The quality-of-life detail where the active app transitions from the inner to the cover display when you fold the phone is a small but genuinely useful touch. Both displays support stylus input, which is still a rarity in the foldable category.

HONOR Connect Is Genuinely Useful for Apple Device Users

The ability to receive iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch notifications directly on the Magic V6 via HONOR Connect is a feature that sounds gimmicky but works well in practice. Setup is straightforward through the HONOR Connect app on the iOS App Store, pairing via QR code, and notifications arrive in real time with sender information and content previews. The full notification history is stored within the app, and since it operates over Bluetooth, the proximity requirement adds a layer of practical security. For anyone who uses an iPhone as a work device or has an iPad at home, this feature meaningfully reduces the friction of managing two ecosystems.

Seven Years of Android Upgrades

MagicOS 10 atop Android 16 at launch, with a commitment to seven major Android upgrades, is the strongest software longevity commitment HONOR has ever made and genuinely competitive with the best in the industry. For a phone at this price point, the long-term value of extended software support is significant, and HONOR deserves credit for closing this gap.

The Bad

Performance Optimisation Lags Behind the Chipset’s Potential

The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is the most powerful mobile chip available right now, and in real-world use the Magic V6 handles everyday tasks and gaming without any visible stuttering or hiccups. However, in standardised CPU benchmarking, the Magic V6 consistently underperforms relative to what the chipset is capable of, and falls behind competing devices running the same or even slightly less powerful chips.

The gap points to MagicOS optimisation that has not yet caught up with the hardware, and while this has limited practical impact for most users, it is a meaningful observation at a price point where you should be getting every ounce of performance the silicon is capable of delivering.

The Inner Display Crease Is Still Visible

HONOR has made meaningful progress on reducing crease depth this generation, and the improvement is noticeable. However, the crease remains visible at certain viewing angles and is discernible by touch, placing it behind the near-invisible crease achieved by the very best foldable displays currently available. For most users this will become a non-issue with time, but for those who are particularly sensitive to display uniformity, it is worth knowing before committing.

Cover Display Leans Dimmer on the Inner Panel

While the cover display is bright and vibrant in direct sunlight, the inner 7.95-inch display can appear relatively dim even at maximum brightness in outdoor conditions. For a phone with a large inner display that you will frequently use in varied lighting, this is a limitation worth noting, particularly for outdoor content consumption or photography review.

Audio Has a Boxy Character

The stereo speakers get loud enough for everyday use, but the sound signature is boxy, with prominent lower-midrange frequencies that crowd out the clarity of the high end. For casual media consumption it is acceptable, but for music listening or serious video content, external audio is the better option. There is no 3.5mm headset jack, so wired audio requires a USB-C adapter.

A Significant Price Increase That Complicates the Value Argument

At RM7,699 for the 512GB model, the Magic V6 represents a meaningful step up from previous generations of HONOR foldables, which were notable for offering strong specifications at more accessible price points. At this tier, it now competes directly with premium foldables from other brands that offer stronger performance optimisation, better battery efficiency, or more polished camera output. The HONOR Magic V6 is the best foldable HONOR has ever made, but the price increase makes it a harder recommendation than previous generations were, particularly for buyers who are not already invested in the HONOR ecosystem.

HONOR Magic V6 Verdict

The HONOR Magic V6 is a genuinely impressive foldable that represents the brand’s best work to date. The IP68 and IP69 ratings, the slim and lightweight form factor, the two excellent displays, the long-term software support commitment, the strong battery life, and the genuinely useful HONOR Connect feature for Apple device users collectively make a compelling case. As a complete package, it is easier to live with daily than almost any foldable that has come before it from any brand.

But at RM7,699, it sits at a price point where the competition is unforgiving, and the performance optimisation gap relative to the chipset’s potential, combined with battery efficiency that falls short of the very best, means it does not quite achieve the unambiguous recommendation that a Gold Award requires at this price. The value proposition that made previous HONOR foldables so compelling has narrowed considerably with this generation’s pricing, and that is the most honest criticism that can be levelled at an otherwise excellent device.

The HONOR Magic V6 earns our Pokdeward Silver for delivering a premium foldable experience with genuine strengths, held back by optimisation gaps and a price point that demands more in return than it fully delivers.

Big thanks to HONOR Malaysia for sending us this foldable smartphone for the purpose of this review.