Technology

Hands-on with the Honor Magic V6 — the stunning new foldable with 'world’s thinnest mobile phone battery'

2026-03-03 16:45
973 views
Hands-on with the Honor Magic V6 — the stunning new foldable with 'world’s thinnest mobile phone battery'

The Honor Magic V6 boasts a refined design, an impressive camera with a 1-inch sensor and a variable telephoto zoom, plus a huge battery.

  1. Phones
  2. Honor Phones
Hands-on with the Honor Magic V6 — the stunning new foldable with 'world’s thinnest mobile phone battery' Features By Alex Walker-Todd published 3 March 2026

Plus, an interview with Honor product expert, Hope Cao

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Honor Magic V6 hands on back angled The Honor Magic V6 (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd) Jump to:
  • Specs and price
  • Design
  • Battery
  • Software
  • Early verdict
  • Copy link
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Whatsapp
  • Reddit
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Threads
  • Email
Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Tech Radar Get the TechRadar Newsletter

Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful

An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter

While Samsung’s foldables experienced a major glow-up in 2025, Honor has been refining its competing Magic V series with an unwavering consistency over the last four years. The newly-unveiled Honor Magic V6 is another record-breaker that should have rivals worried.

Last year’s Honor Magic V5 took the crown for “World’s Thinnest Foldable” and the V6 ups the ante ever so slightly, by shaving another 0.1mm off its predecessor’s already-svelte body. That’s really just the tip of the iceberg, however, with engineering refinements and new functionality that’ll pose a real challenge for the bevy of foldables expected to follow, in the coming months.

You may like
  • The Honor Magic V5 with a pond in the background This Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 rival could have the biggest-ever foldable battery
  • The Honor Magic V5 on a pink background Best Honor phones: the top Honor handsets you should consider
  • The Honor Magic 8 Lite resting on a table The Honor Magic 8 Lite has the best battery life of any phone I've ever tested – but it's not a total home run

Honor Magic V6 specs and price

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Dimensions:

H: 156.7mm x w: 145.6mm (unfolded) / 74.5mm (folded), d: 4.0mm (unfolded white model) / 4.1mm (unfolded black, gold, red models) / 8.75mm (folded white model) / 9.0mm (folded black, gold, red models)

Weight:

219 grams (white model), 224 grams (black, gold, red models)

Inner display:

7.95-inch LTPO 2.0 Honor Super Armored Inner Screen w/ anti-reflective coating + stylus support

Outer display:

6.52-inch LTPO 2.0 Honor anti-scratch NanoCrystal Shield w/ anti-reflective coating + stylus support

Resolution:

Inner display: 2352 x 2172, outer display: 2420 x 1080

Refresh rate:

1 to 120Hz

Peak brightness:

Inner display: 5,000nits, outer display: 6,000nits

Chipset:

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5

RAM:

16GB

Storage:

512GB

OS (at launch):

MagicOS 10 atop Android 16

Main camera:

50MP ƒ/1.6 w/ OIS

Ultrawide camera:

50MP ƒ/2.2

Telephoto camera:

64MP ƒ/2.2 1/2-inch sensor 3x optical zoom w/ OIS

Selfie cameras:

20MP ƒ/2.2 (internal and external screens)

Battery:

6,660mAh Xiaomi Si-C Surge Battery (global model)

Charging:

80W wired, 66W wireless

Colors:

White, black, gold, red

Price

TBC (expected to be around £1,699 / €1,999)

Stronger than ever

Image 1 of 10Honor Magic V6 hands on camera(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)Honor Magic V6 hands on hinge handheld(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)Honor Magic V6 hands on details macro(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)Honor Magic V6 hands on red finish macro(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)Honor Magic V6 hands on back straight(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)Honor Magic V6 hands on front angled(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)Honor Magic V6 hands on crease(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)Honor Magic V6 hands on case stand open(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)Honor Magic V6 hands on case stand open side(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)Honor Magic V6 hands on underwater(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

Foldables always come under fire from skeptics due to their complicated engineering, intricate hinge mechanisms, and softer, flexible displays, when compared to your conventional candybar smartphone.

Samsung’s debut Galaxy Fold had some serious durability issues, which forced the company to completely rethink how it approached constructing its devices. That served as a cautionary tale to rivals like Honor. As a result, we’ve since seen the entire industry invest more time and money into building folding phones that are actually equipped to handle the rigors of normal daily smartphone use.

In the case of the V6, despite its razor-thin profile, Honor has ensured it’s made for the real world. It's even brought receipts, with independent certification from recognized bodies including TÜV Rheinland and SGS.

Speaking to Cao, he dove into more detail on the engineering refinements at work, especially those underneath the phone’s elegant exterior.

Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inboxContact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

“Targeting the issue of hinges being prone to failure, the V6 utilizes 2800MPa (up from 2300MPa on the Magic V5) Honor Super Steel to fortify the mechanical core, which is almost twice the strength of Samsung’s material. This is combined with an AI simulation system, which leverages tens of thousands of virtual drop scenarios, ensuring the structure’s absolute durability and long-term reliability.”

Like the V5, this newer hinge is again rated for 500,000 folds, but Honor’s also bolstered the phone’s construction with IP68 and IP69-certified water resistance. This level of protection is currently exclusive to the V6 in the foldable space, with IP69 in particular, being a rarity outside of devices from the likes of Oppo and OnePlus.

Biggest battery out there

Image 1 of 2Honor Magic V6 hands on thickness closed(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)Honor Magic V6 hands on thickness open(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

Honor is no stranger to pushing the envelope on battery tech, but the V6 has legitimately raised the bar for the competition. That includes a larger and more energy-dense battery than any other foldable currently on the market. Even though the international version of the V6 comes with a smaller capacity offering than its Chinese equivalent, it still clocks in higher than any rival foldable right now.

You may like
  • The Honor Magic V5 with a pond in the background This Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 rival could have the biggest-ever foldable battery
  • The Honor Magic V5 on a pink background Best Honor phones: the top Honor handsets you should consider
  • The Honor Magic 8 Lite resting on a table The Honor Magic 8 Lite has the best battery life of any phone I've ever tested – but it's not a total home run

Despite its impressive 4.1mm thickness (4.0mm on the white version) when open, the Magic V6 still manages to house a sizable 6,600mAh cell, up from 5,820mAh on the Magic V5.

At the launch of the V6, Honor also showed off its fifth-generation ‘Blade Battery’. As thick as a playing card, this next-gen cell has found its way into the China-exclusive 1TB model of the V6, granting the foldable a record 7,000mAh battery capacity.

Cao explained, “this [Honor’s Blade Battery] houses the world’s thinnest mobile phone battery cell, with a thickness of only 0.15mm, yet boasting a silicon content as high as 32%. This enables a maximum battery capacity of 7,000+ mAh on the 1TB version sold in China, ushering the foldable category into the 7,000+ mAh era. Underlying technical innovations include a “super glue” binder in the anode material, 4.57V cathode material, and the thinnest copper foil.”

True cross-platform compatibility

Honor Magic V6 hands on front angled open

(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

Multitasking on a device like the V6 is already a freeing experience, compared to split-screen use or app switching on a conventional candybar phone (and even other foldables). But Honor has been gradually expanding its cross-device compatibility further than any other phone maker.

As much as the company undoubtedly wishes its users operated in an Honor-only bubble of personal tech, it knows that’s seldom the case. As Cao points out, “we are well aware that many high-end users are ‘dual-device owners’ (dual-phone users) operating across ecosystems.”

With their sights set on Apple users in particular, Honor has expanded the V6’s interoperability with the best iPhones; letting you mirror notifications between devices and activate an instant hotspot from the V6 when your iPhone’s signal is poor. What’s more, you can now mirror notifications from the V6 onto your Apple Watch, as well as extend the display of your MacBook onto Honor’s hot new foldable.

The phone’s OneTap feature can wirelessly beam a 1GB file to your MacBook in about 25 seconds. When you pair AirPods with the V6, you get everything from a familiar setup animation to control over the buds’ noise cancellation modes and Find My support.

Early thoughts

Honor Magic V6 hands on top angled half open

(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

The Honor Magic V5 was arguably the most capable foldable of the last year, and the V6 looks on track to receive that same crown in 2026. The only fly in the ointment is that Honor hasn’t yet set a release date (or announced a price).

Despite its impressive new durability credentials, its sizable camera hardware, large displays (with stylus support on both), and new AI-backed functionality, its ambiguous on-sale date gives rivals time to bolster their 2026 foldable offerings, in an effort to thwart the V6’s promising lead.

From my time with it so far, it has a design with presence and a software experience that’s bursting with potential, I just hope we’re not kept waiting for the phone to actually make it to market.

Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.

Alex Walker-ToddAlex Walker-ToddSocial Links NavigationSenior Phones Editor

Alex joined as TechRadar's Senior Phones Editor in June 2022, but brings over a decade's worth of experience to the role, with an expertise in smartphones, tablets and wearables. He's covered keynotes hosted by the biggest brands and attended the launches for some of the most influential mobile products of the last few years. His experience was amassed at some of the most reputable consumer technology publications out there, including GSMArena, TechAdvisor and Trusted Reviews.

View More

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

Logout Back To Top Read more The Honor Magic V5 with a pond in the background This Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 rival could have the biggest-ever foldable battery    The Honor Magic V5 on a pink background Best Honor phones: the top Honor handsets you should consider    The Honor Magic 8 Lite resting on a table The Honor Magic 8 Lite has the best battery life of any phone I've ever tested – but it's not a total home run    Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold on display at a Samsung store in Dubai Hills Mall, Dubai, UAE. After some quality time with the Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold, I'm sure it's going to be a hit – here's why    Samsung Galaxy Z Trifold hands on Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold hands on — expert engineering creates an enticing phone and big-tablet combo    A Xiaomi 17 Pro and Pro Max My most anticipated upcoming phone isn't this year's iPhone, it's a Chinese flagship filled with one-of-a-kind features    Latest in Honor Phones The Honor Magic V5 with a pond in the background This Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 rival could have the biggest-ever foldable battery    A Xiaomi 17 Pro and Pro Max I found the 5 most blatant iPhone 17 clones, and I can't believe they're actually real    The Honor Magic 8 Lite resting on a table The Honor Magic 8 Lite has the best battery life of any phone I've ever tested – but it's not a total home run    A close-up shot of the new Honor Magic 8 Pro. Honor reveals its 'first self-evolving AI smartphone' – and yes, it has an AI button    Honor Magic V5 unfolded, red tree in background I used the Honor Magic V5 for a week and it put a spell on me    The Honor Magic V5, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, and Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold Honor’s Magic V5 foldable is cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold – but is it a better phone?    Latest in Features The Nubia Red Magic Astra on a stand, in gaming mode. Forget the Nintendo Switch 2, MWC 2026 is full of brilliant mobile gaming devices, including the Red Magic Astra    A Marathon server slam promotional screenshot. Marathon is a different kind of extraction shooter, and it won’t be for everyone    Dell Tower Plus desktop No, the sub-$500 PC market will not disappear by 2028 - Au contraire, I expect it to thrive. Here's why    The singing zombie in Resident Evil Requiem. 'She's a 10, but also decaying' — the five zombies from Resident Evil Requiem I wish I could be friends with    Honor Magic V6 hands on back angled Hands on with the Honor Magic V6, the new wafer-thin foldable battery behemoth    Claude on mobile 5 things nobody tells you when you move from ChatGPT to Claude    LATEST ARTICLES