Honor is coming from a robust place in folding telephones, with the Honor Magic V5 displaying precisely what a premium foldable ought to supply.
It’s been rising its profile as a model with elevated curiosity by way of 2025, in accordance with consultants at Searchabull, and it continued that momentum with the launch of the Honor Magic V6 at Cellular World Congress 2026.
The Magic V6 was introduced solely hours earlier than the Motorola Razr Fold, an indicator that Samsung will face rising challenges within the folding telephone area this yr.
I received to spend a while with the brand new telephone across the present in Barcelona, to see simply the way it would possibly stack up in opposition to its mainstream rivals.
How is the Magic V6 completely different to the Magic V5?
Chris Corridor / Foundry
The Honor Magic V6 appears very like the Magic V5 from 2025. Each have an analogous aesthetic, with gold frames and a digital camera encompass that’s not precisely refined. Pictured right here is the Honor Magic V6 in a vibrant crimson end, however there will likely be extra quotidian colors accessible when it launches.
When it comes to specs, the Magic V6 options the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, so there’s a bump in energy over the Snapdragon 8 Elite, however the largest change is within the battery. Due to a brand new Blade Battery with elevated silicon content material, the brand new folding telephone packs in an enormous 6,660mAh.
That dwarfs most different folding telephones, constructing on the spectacular 5,820mAh of the earlier gadget. I mentioned that Honor is coming from a robust place – and these tweaks make it even stronger, whereas nonetheless holding onto the “world’s thinnest” telephone crown.
How does the design evaluate to Samsung and Motorola?
Chris Corridor / Foundry
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is the reigning folding telephone king, and Motorola needs to problem that place with its personal gadget. In the meantime, Honor affords a distinctly completely different design. It’s the slimmest of all of them at 4.1mm and 9.0mm when folded, though there are slight variations based mostly on color. It affords IP69 safety and it weighs 224g (once more, completely different finishes have completely different weights).
Samsung, by comparability, is 4.2mm thick when unfolded and eight.9mm thick when closed. The Samsung design is flatter, with squared-off edges. It matches the remainder of the Galaxy S26 household and I believe it’s the best-looking of all of the gadgets. It has IP68 safety in opposition to mud and water. It’s solely 215g.
The Motorola is available in at 243g, so it’s distinctly heavier than its rivals, and it’s 4.7mm thick when open and 10.04mm closed. It’s an even bigger gadget total, with the design reflecting the remainder of the Motorola portfolio. There’s solely an IP49 score right here so, whereas it’s protected in opposition to water, it’s much less dust-resistant.
It’s horses for programs: I believe the Samsung appears the very best, however I like the boldness of Motorola’s design. Whereas Honor’s telephone is undeniably skinny, it’s a bit too bling for me, with a design that feels too ornamental. After all, some will choose that over Samsung’s extra industrial design.
Which folding telephone affords essentially the most energy?
Chris Corridor / Foundry
There’s no holding Honor again in relation to horsepower: the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 makes this essentially the most highly effective folding telephone but. The Motorola isn’t far behind, utilizing the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, a model that’s a step down and doesn’t fairly supply the height efficiency of the Honor telephone.
Samsung makes use of a Snapdragon 8 Elite, however that is extra a matter of timing. Come the launch of the Galaxy Z Fold 9, it’ll seemingly have an 8 Elite Gen 5 too. However all these telephones supply a strong flagship expertise and the variations are minor in real-world use.
It’s value noting that Samsung comes with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage as customary, whereas Motorola opted for 16/512GB for a similar value. Worth is on Motorola’s facet. Honor matches that specification, however we don’t know the worth – I think will probably be round £1,799 earlier than reductions.
How the Honor Magic V6’s battery and charging compares
Chris Corridor / Foundry
I’ve talked about that the Magic V6 contains a 6,660mAh battery and that is backed by 80W wired and 66W wi-fi charging. On the worldwide mannequin these values are lowered in comparison with the model accessible in China.
Motorola places in a extremely good displaying for itself in relation to battery. After I was first launched to the Razr Edge simply earlier than MWC kicked off, Motorola mentioned that it had the biggest battery and quickest charging, solely to be outdone by Honor later in the identical day.
However credit score the place it’s due, Motorola’s 6,000mAh battery is large, the 100W wired charging is simply as quick and the 50W wi-fi charging is nice too. Each of those gadgets outclass Samsung, with its 4,400mAh battery, 25W wired and 15W wi-fi charging. Nonetheless, Samsung’s cautious method is about battery longevity: quick charging and big capability batteries don’t all the time final as lengthy by way of product life.
How does the Honor Magic V6 show evaluate to rivals?
Chris Corridor / Foundry
The Magic V6 has a 7.95-inch inside show and 6.52-inch exterior. They’ve a 2352×2172 and 2420×1080 pixel decision respectively, with a 120Hz refresh charge and peak brightness of 5,000 and 6,000 nits respectively.
Samsung opts for an 8-inch 2184×1968 pixel decision primary show with 120Hz and a pair of,600 nits. The exterior show is 6.5 inches, 2520×1080 pixels, with 120Hz refresh and a pair of,600 nits.
Motorola rounds out the trio with a 8.1-inch folding show, and a 6.6-inch exterior show, so it’s a contact bigger than different fashions. The 2484×2232 pixels and 120Hz of the principle show is par for the course, however the 6,200 nits peak brightness trumps the others. That is backed up by 2520×1080 pixel exterior show with 165Hz and 6,000 nits.
On paper, one may be tempted to announce Motorola the winner, however there’s extra to it than specs. I’ve seen all these gadgets, nevertheless it’s tough to evaluate the screens on the Honor and Moto gadgets with such restricted time and content material. Honor claims an enormous discount to the crease, however within the mannequin I noticed, the crease was nonetheless outstanding.
These peak brightnesses additionally must be taken with a pinch of salt: the highs solely come by way of with the fitting content material – principally HDR – slightly than in day by day use reacting to sunny situations. Equally, is 165Hz helpful? It’s solely more likely to be accessible in some video games.
How the Honor Magic V6 digital camera stacks up in opposition to the competitors
Chris Corridor / Foundry
The digital camera on the Magic V6 includes a 50Mp primary, 50Mp ultrawide, 64Mp 3x telephoto and 20Mp selfie cameras. Samsung is available in with a 200Mp primary digital camera, 12Mp ultrawide and 10Mp 3x telephoto. Motorola makes use of 50Mp cameras for the principle, ultrawide and telephoto, utilizing the identical system because the Motorola Signature.
Whereas Samsung’s primary digital camera takes the award for finest decision, numbers aren’t all the pieces. I haven’t had the prospect to check the Honor cameras, however suspect the efficiency will likely be very like the V5, which was an excellent digital camera total, though it confirmed some inconsistency between the principle and ultrawide lenses.
I’ve additionally reviewed the Motorola Signature, so can verify that’s an excellent system too, very succesful in all situations, whereas Samsung’s cameras are dependable, even when they don’t have the identical decision throughout the board. Finally, all are fully-specced and complete, matching the excessive costs of those telephones.
What’s the Honor Magic V6 software program expertise like?
Chris Corridor / Foundry
That is the place Honor struggles: MagicOS is a bit more cluttered and fussy than Samsung’s software program and certainly Motorola’s. It’s filled with tweaks and duplication, and comes with a glut of pre-installed apps. Nonetheless, the model I noticed was a Chinese language mannequin not operating the Google expertise that international consumers can count on. One factor that Honor is eager to emphasize is that the Magic V6 will work with Apple gadgets – Honor says it’s an excellent alternative for Apple customers because of this.
Motorola’s software program – which I’ve skilled on gadgets such because the latest Signature – is nearer to inventory Android, however drifting in the identical course. The extra AI on prime of Google’s Gemini is fussy, there’s bloat from further apps and prompts to put in extra apps far and wide.
Samsung, nonetheless, pours years of refinement into One UI. It’s the slickest of all of the working methods talked about right here, though private choice does come into play too.
Honor Magic V6: Early verdict
Honor has stuffed the Magic V6 with prime specs: there’s oodles of energy, an enormous battery and quick charging, a aggressive set of cameras and nice shows. We haven’t examined the total software program expertise, nevertheless it’s unlikely to match the smoothness of Samsung. Samsung’s power is within the design (private choice permitting) and whereas its battery can’t compete, it’s an excellent performer with loads of software program refinement.
Motorola walks a center path: the {hardware} is nice, it has energy and battery capability, nevertheless it’s an even bigger, heavier gadget. What’s clear is that Samsung is dealing with elevated competitors, with Honor and Motorola pouring top-flight specs into their rival gadgets. It’s going to be an enormous yr for book-style folding telephones.
However maybe extra importantly, whereas Samsung’s telephone is already accessible, the Honor Magic V6 received’t be accessible till later in 2026, whereas Motorola’s Razr Fold goes on pre-order from 13 April.