It is 2025. This is a good year for HONOR, having braved through a bit of uncertainty and speculation from the public and tech critics as “the other HUAWEI.” HONOR has thrived, to a fault, with aggressive marketing tactics and out of the box ideas to increase their market share. I’ve asked dealers and retailers which phone brands people should watch out for and the answer has consistently been HONOR. Long Day One lines, amazing pre-order promos, devices selling out in 24 hours. It looks like the public verdict is out.
The HONOR Magic V5 is the 2025 refresh of HONOR’s folding line in its 4th iteration. Nomenclature-wise, they skipped IV for taboo reasons in the Chinese market. As a previous user of the V3, I had thought that HONOR had reached the pinnacle of their foldable lines last year when they debuted at IFA 2024. This year, the Magic V5 presents itself with incremental bumps that have a significant impact on how it can feel on your hands and pocket.
First impressions out of the box
The HONOR Magic foldables always come with a stylish case. The V5 is no exception with the unit seeded to me having a high-quality faux leather back with a kick stand built around the camera system, very similar to the previous model. With the case on, the V5 weighs 257.1 grams, which is 7.6 grams lighter than the Magic V3 (also with the case). The design team also fixed the positioning of the volume buttons: whereas the V3 had the volume buttons on the left screen side, the V5 now has all the buttons, including the power button on the right side. This fixes a minor inconvenience with the previous model of having to remember that the volume buttons move from right to left when you unfold the screen.
The Falcon camera system revisited
The Magic V5 comes with a capable camera system that improves on the Falcon system camera from last year. It’s 50-50-64 with ultra wide, wide, and periscope telephoto. The V5 doesn’t win the award for best foldable phone camera but it is a swissknife of sorts producing very competent shots across the board, from ultra wide, wide, periscope zoom, and yes, even macro. The V5 comes with three photographic presets: natural, vibrant, and authentic. The first for everyday shooting, the second for shooting in natural light, and the third being the most dramatic in contrast. I keep my camera defaulted to the last – authentic – as it is closer to the processing feel of a Xiaomi 14 or 15 with the Leica color tuning. Again, it’s your preference.
One thing that HONOR hasn’t addressed is the positioning of the ultra wide camera lens which is located at the bottom part of the camera system. I had this same complaint last year, and the problem persists with your fingers having a high chance of appearing as they rest on the camera bulge when taking ultra wide shots. Annoying, but not a deal breaker.
Performance
Being a flagship phone, the Magic V5 flaunts its Snapdragon 8 Elite mobile platform. Your favorite high-demand games like Wuthering Waves, ZZZ, and CoD Mobile run well. It is what is to be expected so there’s no surprise here. Audio is great. Screen brightness is crisp. A worthy flagship.
HONOR Magic V5 vs Samsung Galaxy Fold7
This is it. The elephant in the room: which brand has the better foldable? Last year, it was a bit tough to compare the Fold6 with the V3 because the former had an odd dimension when folded. This year, both devices are similar in dimensions and specs.
It’s not easy to pick an outright winner between the two foldables. They’re both great but have nuances that I will unpack here:
When it comes to charging, HONOR takes the lead with fast charging technology. Samsung has always remained conservative with fast chargers. You get roughly 9-10 hours of charge on the Fold7 with moderate use, but I am more confident with the fast charging capabilities of the V5 at 66W versus Samsung’s 25W. Both can pull you through a single day, but the V5 has better charging speeds. Props to Samsung though, because the Fold7 is using the exact same battery of the S25 Ultra, but lasts almost as long, thanks to some internal AI battery tuning.
When it comes to the camera, it’s a mixed bag. I’ve come to like Samsung’s natural and saturated look, but HONOR takes home the prize especially with the night shots and macro. What I do like about the Fold7 though is the camera module design. The HONOR V5 camera system is still top heavy, while the Fold7 feels lighter to hold when truly unfolded: the weight of the V5’s camera system is concentrated in the upper half of the device so you may feel the weight pulling down when fully unfolded but oriented sideways which is a default setting for gaming.
For Samsung users who are saddened by the removal of the S-Pen support for the Fold7, the HONOR Magic V5 supports Magic Pen writing, although the pen itself is still not officially being sold in the Philippines (yet).
Durability wise, HONOR has more to claim, with support for IP58 and IP59 ratings. HONOR has been aggressively demonstrating how the HONOR Magic V5 can hold up a living room couch under pressure for an extended period of time.
In terms of default pricing without any promos, it’s a win for HONOR. The 512GB model of the Samsung Galaxy Fold7 sells for P120,990 while the HONOR Magic V5 sells for P88,999, roughly P30,000 more affordable.
Final thoughts
It’s so nice to live in an age where we are spoiled by choice. It would be bold to say that the HONOR Magic V5 is the most affordable premium foldable in the market today, going head to head with the OPPO Find N5 and the Samsung Galaxy Fold7. Being the most affordable of the three doesn’t mean trading off premium features. I would say it is more of an aggressive move for HONOR to dangle a carrot for consumers who have always wanted a foldable. This is probably why they’re using the #MyFirstFoldable hashtag in their marketing.
The HONOR Magic V5 is now available for P89,000 (512GB model) and also available under Globe’s GPlan Plus 1799 for P2,813 a month / 24 months with a free HONOR Pad X8a worth P7,999. This promo runs until September 12 2025.
Tech Specs (for unit reviewed)
Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform
Adreno 830 GPU
50MP ultra wide, 50MP wide, 64MP telephoto (3x optical zoom)
20MP front camera
2376 x 1060 folded | 2352 x 2172 unfolded
16GB RAM + 16GB HONOR RAM Turbo
5820mAh Silicon Carbon Battery
66W SuperCharge | 50W wireless SuperCharge
IP58 and IP59 ratings
Support for WiFi 7
512GB internal storage
Android 15 (Magic OS 9.0.1)
