Verdict - Not always the thinnest foldable
The Honor Magic V5 not only offers a slim design but also a powerful battery, a fast SoC, a good triple camera, and a robust design with high IP certification, as well as seven years of updates.
In the test, it is noticeable that the display quickly reduces the brightness to around 1,000 cd/m² on warm days. It is also unfortunate that peak brightness is only available for HDR content.
Pros
Cons
Price and availability
The Honor Magic V5 has an RRP of €1,999 (approx. US$2,340), but the price has been slashed by €300 at the launch in the Honor store.
- $10.99MOOISVS 2+2Pack for Honor Magic V5 Flexible Privacy Screen Protector(Not Tempered Glass)(2Packs)+Lens Screen Protector(2Packs),Anti-Spy Flexible TPU Film,Easy Installation
- $9.99MOOISVS 2 Pack for Honor Magic V5 Camera Lens Protectors, Scratch-Resistant HD Clarity Ultra-Thin Tempered Glass Camera Cover with Aluminum Edging,Individual Metal Lens Cover, Black
Table of Contents
- Verdict - Not always the thinnest foldable
- Specifications: Honor Magic V5
- Case and features - Honor Magic V5 with IP59
- Software and sustainability - Seven years of updates for the Magic V5
- Camera - Foldable with high-resolution lenses
- Display - Bright, but with limitations
- Further measurements and benchmarks for the Honor Magic V5
- Notebookcheck overall rating
- Possible alternatives in comparison
The Honor Magic V5 is the successor to the Magic V3 and is even slimmer than its predecessor, still claiming to be the thinnest foldable in the world. However, independent measurements have already shown that the result depends on where and how it is measured (as we report).
However, Honor has integrated even more innovations, including a larger battery and a beefed-up camera.
Specifications: Honor Magic V5
Case and features - Honor Magic V5 with IP59
The Honor Magic V5 is nominally the thinnest foldable phone that can be purchased at the time of testing. At least when the ivory white color variant is selected, which is also our test device. Morgengold and black are slightly thicker (unfolded: 4.2 mm, closed: 9.0 mm). We like the workmanship of the V5 very much. Despite its slim design, Foldable appears stable, and the inner display is also said to be more resistant thanks to carbon reinforcement.
Both displays allow input with an active stylus, which is optionally available from Honor.
In terms of features, the model is quite similar to the Magic V3. Bluetooth 6.0 is new, and the 6 GHz band is finally available for Wi-Fi 7. The number of supported 5G mobile bands is exemplary. The voice quality of the Magic V5 is excellent when held to the ear, and ambient noise is mostly suppressed. A new feature is the improved live phone calls translation, which now works completely offline, is faster, and requires less memory space. AI Deepfake Detection is now also on board.
A capacitive fingerprint scanner is integrated into the power button for biometric security. This delivers high recognition rates and unlocks the V5 very quickly. Face recognition is available for both front cameras and also works very quickly, even from steep viewing angles. The linear vibration motor works discreetly and can be adjusted in the settings.
Software and sustainability - Seven years of updates for the Magic V5
The Honor Magic V5 is supplied with Google Android 15 and MagicOS 9.0.1. It receives seven years of major OS and security updates, but this only applies to devices within the EU and UK. It may be shorter in other markets. All known AI functions from the Magic7 Pro or the Honor 400 are included. One new feature is the improved live translation when making calls, which is noticeably less laggy.
In terms of sustainability, Honor provides hardly any information. There are also no plans for the Foldable to be repaired by the user.
Camera - Foldable with high-resolution lenses
The front cameras deliver good results for selfies when there is enough light. In dim light, the noise reduction is quite aggressive and also eliminates image details. Videos can be recorded in Ultra (30 FPS).
The triple camera can also be used for self-portraits, with the external display serving as a viewfinder. The main camera produces well-balanced photos, and the ultra-wide angle also allows for appealing images, but the edges become slightly blurred. The camera features a 3x periscope zoom (70 mm) that can rely on optical image stabilization. The 6x digital zoom is virtually loss-free, and a maximum magnification of 100x is possible. If desired, this can be optimized by AI, which can certainly improve the quality when it comes to objects; however, this approach did not yield improvements in text quality during the test. Both the ultra wide-angle and zoom lenses are ideal for macro subjects.
The Magic V5 records videos in 4k with 60 FPS at best, optionally also with HDR.
Display - Bright, but with limitations
The foldable main display of the Honor Magic V5 shines much brighter than its predecessor and is also better when it comes to color accuracy. If you adjust the brightness manually, you can achieve a maximum of 641 cd/m². With the ambient light sensor activated, this is more than doubled with a pure white display. However, it's a pity that we don't get more brightness from the OLED panel with less white area. The peak brightness is nominally 5,000 cd/m², which we even significantly exceeded when playing an HDR video on YouTube.
Honor has now raised the high-frequency PWM dimming to the same level as the outdoor display, which was already the case with the Magic V3; hence, complaints for sensitive people were virtually eliminated. Other functions, such as a circadian night display and the defocus function, provide additional comfort for the eyes.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 93 %
Center on Battery: 1330 cd/m²
Contrast: ∞:1 (Black: 0 cd/m²)
ΔE ColorChecker Calman: 0.7 | ∀{0.5-29.43 Ø4.82}
ΔE Greyscale Calman: 1.2 | ∀{0.09-98 Ø5.1}
99.2% sRGB (Calman 2D)
Gamma: 2.25
CCT: 6596 K
| Honor Magic V5 OLED, 2352x2172, 8" | Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 2184x1968, 8" | Oppo Find N5 AMOLED, 2480x2248, 8.1" | Huawei Mate X6 OLED, 2440x2240, 7.9" | Honor Magic V3 OLED, 2344x2156, 7.9" | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen | -67% | -45% | -37% | -23% | |
| Brightness middle | 1330 | 1311 -1% | 1240 -7% | 1182 -11% | 1019 -23% |
| Brightness | 1357 | 1307 -4% | 1179 -13% | 1179 -13% | 1032 -24% |
| Brightness Distribution | 93 | 95 2% | 91 -2% | 97 4% | 95 2% |
| Black Level * | |||||
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 0.7 | 2.4 -243% | 1.36 -94% | 1.2 -71% | 1 -43% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 2 | 3.4 -70% | 3.06 -53% | 2.9 -45% | 2.2 -10% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 1.2 | 2.2 -83% | 2.4 -100% | 2.2 -83% | 1.7 -42% |
| Gamma | 2.25 98% | 2.03 108% | 2.239 98% | 2.26 97% | 2.26 97% |
| CCT | 6596 99% | 6413 101% | 6353 102% | 6741 96% | 6473 100% |
* ... smaller is better
| Display / APL18 Peak Brightness | |
| Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 | |
| Huawei Mate X6 | |
| Honor Magic V5 | |
| Display / HDR Peak Brightness | |
| Honor Magic V5 | |
| Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 | |
| Huawei Mate X6 | |
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM detected | 360 Hz Amplitude: 14.97 % Secondary Frequency: 4166 Hz |  | |
The display backlight flickers at 360 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) . The frequency of 360 Hz is relatively high, so most users sensitive to PWM should not notice any flickering. However, there are reports that some users are still sensitive to PWM at 500 Hz and above, so be aware. In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8276 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. | |||
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1.38 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 0.6975 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 0.6825 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 6 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (20.4 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 0.75 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 0.375 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 0.371 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 2 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (31.9 ms). | ||
Cover display
The cover display of the Magic V5 appears to be largely identical to that of the V3, but shows a more even illumination in the test, and the manual brightness control has been extended to up to 776 cd/m². The peak brightness is also reserved exclusively for HDR display.
The panel's high-frequency PWM dimming is technically identical to that of the foldable display. Complaints are also very unlikely here.
| Honor Magic V5 OLED, 2376x1060, 6.4" | Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 2520x1080, 6.5" | Oppo Find N5 2616x1140, 6.6" | Huawei Mate X6 OLED, 2440x1080, 6.5" | Honor Magic V3 OLED, 2376x1060, 6.4" | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen | |||||
| Brightness middle | 1701 | 1348 | 1358 | 1658 | 1743 |
| Brightness | 1691 | 1346 | 1328 | 1663 | 1775 |
| Brightness Distribution | 97 | 94 | 96 | 98 | 88 |
| Black Level * | |||||
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 0.7 | 2.2 | 1.14 | 1.1 | 0.9 |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 2 | 2.9 | 2.21 | 2.2 | 2.1 |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 1.7 | 2.3 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 1.8 |
| Gamma | 2.22 99% | 2.04 108% | 2.213 99% | 2.27 97% | 2.25 98% |
| CCT | 6396 102% | 6461 101% | 6504 100% | 6709 97% | 6353 102% |
* ... smaller is better
| Display / APL18 Peak Brightness | |
| Huawei Mate X6 | |
| Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 | |
| Honor Magic V3 | |
| Honor Magic V5 | |
| Display / HDR Peak Brightness | |
| Honor Magic V5 | |
| Honor Magic V3 | |
| Huawei Mate X6 | |
| Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 | |
Further measurements and benchmarks for the Honor Magic V5
| Networking | |
| Honor Magic V5 | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 6GHz | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 6GHz | |
| Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 6GHz | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 6GHz | |
| Oppo Find N5 | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| Huawei Mate X6 | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| Average 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 6GHz | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 6GHz | |
| Average of class Smartphone | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 6GHz | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 6GHz | |
| Honor Magic V5 | Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 | Oppo Find N5 | Huawei Mate X6 | Average 512 GB UFS 4.1 Flash | Average of class Smartphone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AndroBench 3-5 | -18% | -8% | 65% | 17% | -25% | |
| Sequential Read 256KB | 3870.06 | 4080.35 5% | 3437.47 -11% | 4370.48 13% | 3965 ? 2% | 2198 ? -43% |
| Sequential Write 256KB | 3360.06 | 2239.55 -33% | 3251.98 -3% | 4030.38 20% | 3573 ? 6% | 1800 ? -46% |
| Random Read 4KB | 279.8 | 403.69 44% | 269.51 -4% | 503.63 80% | 367 ? 31% | 295 ? 5% |
| Random Write 4KB | 391.94 | 51.23 -87% | 339.32 -13% | 963.72 146% | 497 ? 27% | 338 ? -14% |
(-) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 48.1 °C / 119 F, compared to the average of 35.2 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 247 °C for the class Smartphone.
(±) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 44 °C / 111 F, compared to the average of 33.9 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 28.2 °C / 83 F, compared to the device average of 32.9 °C / 91 F.
3DMark Steel Nomad Stress Test
| 3DMark | |
| Wild Life Stress Test Stability | |
| Honor Magic V5 | |
| Oppo Find N5 | |
| Huawei Mate X6 | |
| Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 | |
| Steel Nomad Light Stress Test Stability | |
| Huawei Mate X6 | |
| Oppo Find N5 | |
| Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 | |
| Honor Magic V5 | |
Honor Magic V5 audio analysis
(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (81.9 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 18.4% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (11.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 5.5% higher than median
(+) | mids are linear (5.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 3.2% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (4.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (18% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 15% of all tested devices in this class were better, 8% similar, 77% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 35%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 36% of all tested devices were better, 8% similar, 56% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (89.5 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 21.4% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (10% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | reduced mids - on average 5% lower than median
(+) | mids are linear (5.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 5.9% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (4.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (17.1% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 8% of all tested devices in this class were better, 8% similar, 84% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 35%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 29% of all tested devices were better, 8% similar, 63% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
| Battery Runtime - WiFi v1.3 | |
| Honor Magic V5 | |
| Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 | |
| Oppo Find N5 | |
| Huawei Mate X6 | |
Notebookcheck overall rating
The Honor Magic V5 is currently the thinnest foldable, robustly reinforced, and IP59-protected. It offers pen input, Bluetooth 6.0, Wi-Fi 7, numerous 5G bands, as well as offline live translation and deepfake detection.
Honor Magic V5
- 08/25/2025 v8
Daniel Schmidt
Total Sustainability Score: Possible alternatives in comparison
Image | Model / Review | Price | Weight | Drive | Display |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. 88.1%  | Honor Magic V5 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite ⎘ Qualcomm Adreno 830 ⎘ 16 GB Memory, 512 GB | Amazon: 1. $9.99 MOOISVS 2+2Pack for Honor Ma... 2. $10.99 MOOISVS 2+2Pack for Honor Ma... 3. $9.99 MOOISVS 2 Pack for Honor Mag... | 217 g | 512 GB UFS 4.1 Flash | 7.95" 2352x2172 403 PPI OLED |
2. 87.2%  | Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy ⎘ Qualcomm Adreno 830 ⎘ 12 GB Memory, 256 GB | Amazon: $1,779.99 List Price: 2099€ | 215 g | 256 GB UFS 4.0 Flash | 8.00" 2184x1968 367 PPI Dynamic AMOLED 2X |
3. 87%  | Oppo Find N5 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite ⎘ Qualcomm Adreno 830 ⎘ 12 GB Memory, 512 GB | Amazon: 1. $6.96 Kepuch Screen Protector Comp... 2. $12.68 Puccy 4 Pack Screen Protecto... 3. $6.07 FZZSZS (3-Pack for Oppo Find... List Price: 1577€ | 229 g | 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash | 8.12" 2480x2248 412 PPI AMOLED |
4. 83.1%  | Huawei Mate X6 HiSilicon Kirin 9020 ⎘ HiSilicon Maleoon 920 ⎘ 12 GB Memory, 512 GB | Amazon: 1. $9.89 AKABEILA Compatible with Hua... 2. $19.90 IPG Made for Huawei Mate X6 ... 3. $15.99 AKABEILA 3 Pack Screen Prote... List Price: 1999€ | 239 g | 512 GB UFS 4.0 Flash | 7.93" 2440x2240 418 PPI OLED |
Transparency
The selection of devices to be reviewed is made by our editorial team. The test sample was given to the author by the manufacturer free of charge for the purposes of review. There was no third-party influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review. We never accept compensation or payment in return for our reviews. As an independent media company, Notebookcheck is not subjected to the authority of manufacturers, retailers or publishers.
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