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Honor Magic V6 review - "They've done it - it's the best foldable yet"
  • The Honor Magic V6 is incredibly robust both inside and out
  • Lightweight, thin, and powerful
  • Play games as much as you want across that gorgeous screen

While I'm often all about the long-winded intros and unnecessary preambles, I've decided not to beat around the bush this time, because the Honor Magic V6 is just fantastic. Period.

Looks good, feels great

I suppose there's no need for any suspense here, since you can already clearly see how I've given it five stars. It's the first time I've ever felt like the series really deserved full marks, as the previous models - while equally fantastic - always had a little something that made it fall short of a perfect score.

This time around, I have no qualms about the perfection of the V6, and especially so since I've been using it as my daily phone for over a month now. They shipped it to reviewers earlier than usual, which, to me, just goes to show how confident they are about the foldable's quality - that even months later, they know it'll still hold up.

the honor magic v6 unfolded back view

The way it looks and feels alone is top-notch, especially since I got the luxurious Gold variant. If you're into all the numbers, it's only got a mind-blowing 4.1mm unfolded thickness, because just when I thought the V5 couldn't possibly get any thinner, they went ahead and proved me wrong with the V6.

Beauty and brains, so to speak

At 224g, it's also got that sweet IP68 and IP69 rating, and more than a month in, I've already nicked and dropped it a bunch of times because that's just how clumsy ol' me operates. The resulting casualty was only a small scratch on the upper left corner of the included case - also boasting a subtle elegance, by the way - which is incredibly impressive.

And the outer screen - oh my goodness. I don't understand how something can be this durable and still be fingerprint-free and scratch-free. I haven't installed a screen protector all this time, just so you know, and I don't think I'm ever going to need to.

the back case attached to the v6

I'm not going to get into the exact specs - as you can find those on the official website - but one of the things that stood out to me throughout my daily usage is that the battery really is as robust as they say it is at 6660mAh. I don't have to worry about losing any juice while I'm out and about, whether that's playing games while in transit or just having it around in my always-heavy purse. 

The wireless charging is a godsend too at 66W, and with the Wireless Reverse Charging, I'm also pretty confident now that I can share power with my husband's phone, just in case. I know that might not seem like much, but I've had a few friends boasting this feature to me on their own phones - and now I can be a part of the cool crowd too.

Plus, the odd vibration whenever the phone is charging has now been reduced significantly, almost like it's not even there. This is also a huge triumph for me - it just felt really weird to have that low rumbling every time I used to charge my phone. I don't know what kind of magic (Honor magic, heh) the hardworking folks at R&D have done, but they're clearly doing it right.

For gamers and non-gamers alike

The only thing I still had trouble with was transferring stuff from an old phone to a new one - although that's really an Android problem, I suppose. 

It took me a week to get everything in order simply because the icons were all over the place, but I was glad to see it didn't have much bloatware save for the usual Google ecosystem stuff that's preinstalled. Some Honor apps might feel redundant if you're already using Google, by the way, so that's something to consider.

the full unfolded screen showing a screenshot from the game petit planet

The thing about foldables is that you do have to compromise a tad when it comes to telescopic controllers, though. And while playing unfolded means I get to use the camera as a proper grip, it also means my hands get in the way of where the speaker is placed.

As always, some apps support the full-screen mode, which you can toggle in the notch display. There's an ebook mode too, and the multitasking features - which I absolutely love - are still lovely to use and very, very convenient. 

Playing games didn't make the V6 run hot, either, but it did start to get toasty when I was tinkering around with the camera settings (reaching up to 41.6 degrees Celsius at one point).

Still, no matter what kind of save-the-world quest I embarked on or cosy puzzler I snuggled up to with the V6, it all just felt smooth and vivid - honestly, once I started using Honor's foldables, I've always felt like I could never go back to non-foldable ones. The crease is now even more unnoticeable, by the way, so playing games feels even more larger-than-life.

the crease of the unfolded honor magic v6

At the end of the day, using the Honor Magic V6 as my everyday phone has made me forego the need for any other "gaming phone" or extra peripheral. And this is probably the shortest review for the V series I've ever written, even though the V6 is the longest one I've been using - and to be honest, that's an incredibly wonderful thing.

The fact that I find myself struggling to find anything else to say is because there's really nothing to even nitpick about - I love everything about the phone both inside and outside, and that's probably the most genuine endorsement anyone could ever want.

That said, this is all, of course, dependent on whether or not you can stomach the price tag, but if you're already a fan of Honor's foldables, this is simply a no-brainer. And if it's your first time diving into this bold new world, I don't think there's any reason to search anywhere else.

Honor Magic V6 review - "They've done it - it's the best foldable yet"

The Honor Magic V6 excels in everything its predecessor builds upon, both with its hardware and its software. There's only the price tag to ponder here, but if that's not an issue for you, the V6 is the only top-tier choice.
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Catherine Dellosa
Catherine Dellosa
Catherine plays video games for a living and writes because she’s in love with words. Her Young Adult contemporary novel, For The Win: The Not-So-Epic Quest Of A Non-Playable Character, is her third book published by Penguin Random House SEA - a poignant love letter to gamer geeks, mythological creatures, teenage heartbreak, and everything in between. She one day hopes to soar the skies as a superhero, but for now, she strongly believes in saving lives through her works in fiction. Check out her books at bit.ly/catherinedellosabooks, or follow her on FB/IG/Twitter at @thenoobwife.