Honor has jumped onto the flip phone bandwagon, unveiling its inaugural clamshell-style phone on Thursday. The Magic V Flip, which launched first in its native China, is expected to receive a global release later this year. In China, it starts for 4,999 yuan, which converts to $689.

The standout feature of the Magic V Flip is its exceptionally large and bright cover screen: At 4 inches, it’s the world’s largest cover screen on a commercially sold flip phone. (The competing Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 has a 3.4-inch external display, while Motorola’s Razr Plus has a 3.6-inch outer panel.) It also has a peak brightness of 3,000 nits, making it the world’s brightest cover screen on a flip phone. 

Read more: Samsung’s Flip Phone Highlights the Clamshell’s Comeback

Size isn’t everything, though, and we’ll have to test out how the company’s software takes advantage of the Magic V Flip’s large screen once an international version of the Magic V Flip is available. Honor says its cover screen, which has a nearly 16:9 aspect ratio, supports more than 40 apps. It has a split-screen mode on the outer screen with a long video area, a space for applications and a designated reminder zone, which Honor says displays the time and notifications. When you flip the phone, the Magic V Flip relies on a 6.8-inch internal display, which also has a brightness of 3000 nits.

As for the cameras, there’s a 50-megapixel selfie camera situated on the lower-left corner of the cover screen. On the back, a 50-megapixel main camera and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide round off the camera setup. 

Honor V Flip Phone in open and closed positions Honor V Flip Phone in open and closed positions

Honor

The battery type is another first for Honor. The Magic V Flip runs on a 4,800-mAh silicon carbon battery, making it the first commercially sold foldable phone to carry this newer type of battery. Honor says it can be replenished to 45% in 15 minutes with its 65-watt wired charger. 

The use of silicon-carbon batteries in mobile phones is an emerging trend that’s drawn attention due to their potential advantages over lithium-ion batteries. Those benefits include a lower environmental impact and reduced risk of overheating. But the long-term reliability of silicon carbon batteries is still being researched, and adoption in the smartphone industry is still in its early stages.

Honor has clinched a number of notable firsts, but the Magic V Flip  also comes with some tradeoffs, although they might not necessarily be noticeable in day-to-day use. Compared to some of its rivals, the Honor V Flip is lagging in terms of its processor and durability, at least on paper. The Magic V Flip runs on an older chipset, the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1. This is a cut behind the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 on last year’s Galaxy Z Flip 5 and the same one that runs on the 2023’s Razr Plus, but we’re talking about a phone launching in 2024.

The Honor V Flip lacks an IP rating for water- and dust-resistance. The  Galaxy Z Flip 5 has an IPX8 rating, while the Razr Plus an IP52 rating. These are important features as durability is among the key concerns from people considering adopting these pricey foldables. 


Source link