Honor’s svelte Android phone-tablet has been given a glow-up for its sixth version, offering a great alternative to Samsung for a fancy foldable with a red suede-like back framed in gold.
The Magic V6 continues the Chinese challenger brand’s strategy of taking a razor-thin device and slapping a giant circular lump on the back to fit in top-class cameras, something others often forgo. It costs a not inconsiderable £1,500 (€1,700/A$2,999) but only until August when the price jumps to a cool £2,000 (€2,300) – a solid £300 more than last year’s model as the cost of RAMageddon continues to bite, even at the very top end of the market.
Other than a new red-backed version, the Magic V6 is almost indistinguishable from the great V5 from last year. It is one of the thinnest and lightest foldable tablets on the market, has a great fingerprint scanner in the power button and has a proper IP68 water resistance rating matching the best slab phones, making it easy to use as a daily driver. When closed it handles just like a regular flagship Android phone with a great, crisp and smooth OLED display.
Once opened, the internal screen is one of the best available, ready for all your media-watching or multitasking needs. But the crease down the middle that allows the screen to fold is slightly more noticeable than some rivals and the integrated screen film is a fingerprint magnet, so it will need cleaning regularly to make the best of it.
Specifications
- Main screen:7.95in (403ppi) 120Hz OLED flexible display
- Cover screen:6.52in (406ppi) 120Hz OLED
- Processor:Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
- RAM:16GB
- Storage:512GB
- Operating system:MagicOS 10 (Android 16)
- Camera:50MP + 50MP ultrawide + 64MP 3x tele; 2x 20MP selfie
- Connectivity:5G, dual sim + esim, USB-C, wifi 7, NFC, Bluetooth 6, GNSS
- Water resistance:IP68/69 (1.5 metres for 30 minutes)
- Dimensions folded:156.7 x 74.5 x 8.75-9mm
- Dimensions unfolded:156.7 x 145.6 x 4.0-4.1mm
- Weight:219-224g
Two-day battery life
The Magic V6 has Qualcomm’s top Android chip for 2026, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, making it one of the best performers on the market, rivalling top slab phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra.
However, by default the Magic V6 uses a “balanced” battery mode, which significantly inhibits the phone’s top performance. It isn’t noticeable in day-to-day messaging and browsing but it was in games and other high-intensity tasks. Switching the phone to its “performance” battery mode significantly improved things at the expense of heat and battery life.
The Honor has a very large battery compared with most foldable phone rivals, which helps it last almost two full days between charges while actively using a mixture of the screens for more than eight hours for general browsing, messaging, work and media consumption. Playing games drains the battery a bit faster but the Magic V6 should outlast even the heaviest of usage days.
MagicOS 10 software still needs work
The phone runs Honor’s version of last year’s Android 16, MagicOS 10, which means it isn’t as up to date as some rivals running Android 17. Honor will provide seven years of Android version and security updates for devices sold within Europe.
MagicOS has improved since last year. It looks quite nice, has plenty of customisation options and tools for making the most of the folding screen, including the excellent ability to split-screen three apps beyond the bounds of the physical display, which was introduced last year.
Various AI tools are strewn throughout the operating system, including Google’s Gemini, which you can set to open in split-screen next to whatever app you are using at the time by quickly flexing the tablet. Many of the tools work as shortcuts for performing tasks such as saving screenshots, editing photos and changing settings on your phone.
The “AI button” is meant to launch actions such as turning on the torch or opening an AI tool by double-tapping, though not depressing, the power button, but it doesn’t work. There are various other parts of the operating system that are unpolished. A bug prevents Google’s Chrome browser from opening in split-screen. Apps that are out of date are described as having a “low version” by Honor’s App Market, which also insists on trying to update apps installed from Google Play, bringing the two app stores into conflict. The Honor lacks the ability to have a different home screen layout for the inside and outside screens, and messaging apps such as WhatsApp routinely insist on opening as small floating windows if you tap a message notification, even on the outside screen.
These little niggles could be overlooked on a significantly cheaper phone, but not on a £1,500-£2,000 device. You can and should expect better.
Camera
The enormous circular bump on the back houses three cameras, with a 20MP selfie camera in each of the two screens for a total of five cameras.
The cameras have changed little since last year’s V5 and perform very similarly. The main 50MP camera shoots great photos at 12MP as standard with good detail and range with its cropped 2x zoom, though it can notably suffer from moiré on stripped textures. The 50MP ultra wide camera has been improved since the V5, solving some of the distortion problems. The 64MP 3x telephoto is the best of the bunch, capturing excellent detail, even with its 2x crop zoom for an effective 6x magnification. Its digital zoom remains good to 30x before becoming obviously blown up.
Low light photography is pretty good across all the lenses, while the camera app has tons of features, including many AI tools and a good manual mode for more creative photography. The Magic V6 shoots decent video up to 4K at 60 frames a second and can be used in various partly folded orientations.
Sustainability
The battery will maintain at least 80% capacity after 1,200 full-charge cycles. The phone is generally repairable and Honor publishes pricing for spare parts, including £609 for an internal screen and £152 for the external screen, plus labour and shipping. Honor offers a free screen repair (Care+) for 24 months if bought before 2 August.
The device contains limited recycled materials, which Honor breaks down in the phone’s environmental impact report. The company offers trade-in and refurbished products.
Price
The Honor Magic V6 has an introductory price of £1,499.99 (€1,699.90/A$2,999), which will increase to £1,999.99 (€2,299.90) from August 2026 in some regions.
For comparison, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra costs £1,899 and the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold costs £1,749.
Verdict
The Magic V6 is another very attractive book-style foldable from Honor, but it fails to move things on from last year in an increasingly competitive category.
It has really great battery life, matching some of the best slab phones. The outside screen is great, while the inside screen is good but has a more visible crease than some recent rivals. The Magic V6 feels particularly good when used as a phone, while the massive bump fits in some great cameras and means it doesn’t rock around on a table like some others.
But it is the software that continues to let Honor down. It just isn’t as up to date or polished as it needs to be on a device this expensive.
As good as the Magic V6 is, it lacks a compelling reason to buy it over more complete rivals from Samsung, Google and others.
Pros:slim, light, just like a normal phone when closed, great performance, very long battery life, good internal screen, decent camera, good fingerprint scanner, IP68/9 water and dust resistance rating.
Cons:very expensive, software not as refined as needed, more fragile than a regular device, costly to repair, not much of an upgrade on previous model.