Honor only launched a book-style folding phone in January, but it was an older device than you might think.
The Magic V2 was initially unveiled in China back in July 2023, meaning we had to wait several months for a global launch.
In China, attentions are already turning to the next generation, which we assume will be known as the Magic V3. And if you were considering buying a Magic V2, it might be worth holding off until we see what Honor has planned for 2024.
Here’s everything we know about the Magic V3 so far.
When will the Honor Magic V3 be released?
Understandably, nothing has been revealed regarding a potential release date for the Magic V3 at this stage. However, previous models give us a rough idea of what to expect:
Should this rough schedule continue, we’d expect to see the Magic V3 in China before the end of 2024. However, the long delays between Chinese and global launches continue, it may not arrive in Europe until early 2025.
With Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chipset expected in either October or November 2024, Honor may want to delay the launch of the Magic V3 to ensure it’s not using an outdated chipset again.
Anyron Copeman / Foundry
How much will the Honor Magic V3 cost?
There’s been no official word on the pricing for the Honor Magic V2 at the time of writing. For guidance, we can look to the previous models:
The Magic V2 comes with a higher price tag than its predecessor, but still costs less than key rivals such as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 (from $1,799.99/£1,748) and Google Pixel Fold (from $1,799/£1,749).
It’s very difficult to predict how this might change on the next generation. Hopefully, Honor will be able to maintain the premium design while making the device more affordable.
What specs and features will the Honor Magic V3 have?
At this point, not much is known about the Magic V3, but a couple of rumours have emerged.
According to a post from @FixedFocus on Chinese social media site Weibo, the Porsche version of a new folding phone “has now been finalized”. That was in December 2023, but several months after the launch of the Magic V2.
Therefore, as Huawei Central suggests, it’s highly that the Magic V3 is what’s being referred to. It’s not a huge surprise, given the Magic V2 and Magic 6 are both getting Porsche Design versions.
The Huawei Central article goes on to say that it expects the phone to get the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, Qualcomm’s latest and greatest at the time of writing. That would be a nice upgrade over the 8 Gen 2 in the Magic V2, though there’s a small chance that it’ll jump straight to the 8 Gen 4.
Don’t expect any big design changes, though. The Magic V2 is already the thinnest and lightest book-style foldable you can buy, with premium materials giving it the best design of any folding phone.
Anyron Copeman / Foundry
However, hopefully Honor will have made improvements to the software which help it feel genuinely optimised for the 7.92-inch internal display. However, both it and the 6.43-inch cover screen are already superb, combining a high resolution with OLED and a 120Hz refresh rate.
It’s not yet clear if we’ll see any changes to the five cameras – 50Mp main, 50Mp ultrawide, 20Mp telephoto, 2x 16Mp selfie (at top of both displays) – which are decent, but not always the most reliable.
Similarly, the 5000mAh battery with support for 66W fast charging may also remain the same. Expect AI to be heavily involved, too.
That’s all we know about the Magic V3 so far. We’ll update this article once more information comes to light.
In the meantime, be sure to check out our round-up of the best foldable phones and the best phones coming to the UK and US in 2024.