I used a flip phone that costs almost $3,000. It’s worth it?

All reports from MWC 2024 in Barcelona

Last summer, Honor Magic V2 It surprised me with its thin and light design. It’s most similar to a flip phone or tablet phone. Now, in MMC 2024Honor has outdone itself with the Porsche Edition of the device.

The €2,699 Honor Magic V2 RSR may have the same specs, but it’s even lighter than the regular V2 at 234 grams. I’ve had it for about three weeks now, and while I’ve enjoyed having the large folded screen in my pocket, there’s something that has been bothering me.

A new benchmark in foldable phone design

Magic V2 RSR weighs 234 grams, just 2 grams more than Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. For reference, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Pixel Fold weigh 253g and 283g respectively. Plus, it’s lighter than my favorite foldable device: OnePlus Open (239g).

And it’s not just light. The Magic V2 RSR is also slim. At 9.9mm thick when folded, it’s close to a regular flat phone, making it easier to pocket than foldable devices from OnePlus, Samsung and Google. It is easy to put in your pocket, making the experience easier. In comparison, the Galaxy Z Fold 5, Google Pixel Fold and OnePlus Open are 13.46mm, 12.1mm and 11.7mm thick respectively. For their part, the Galaxy S24 Ultra and Google Pixel 8 Pro are 8.7mm and 8.8mm thick respectively.

Thin and light design plays an important role when you have a foldable phone unfolded. After all, I type, browse, and work on the go on the 7.92-inch screen. If it’s heavy, it bothers me because sometimes I have to write an entire article while I’m scrolling through it. It’s amazing how much work I can get done on my phone when it’s displayed on a big screen. I can’t do this in Galaxy Z-fold 5 or in Google Pixel Fold. The slim design allows me to carry it in my pocket without feeling like there’s two phones jammed in there, which is great.

The design of the Porsche Magic V2 RSR also stands out. For a phone with a flight line design on the back, it looks classy. It’s made from titanium and is advertised as reminiscent of the hood of a Porsche 911. Honor claims it delivers “a sports car feel right in the palms of users’ hands,” which I’m not sure about because I’m not sure. sports car lover. However, I can say that it provides a different grip than other phones I’ve liked. It has a unique feeling in the hand. This is where style meets function.

Honor also comes with a host of goodies designed to look like a real luxury phone. There is a leather case with flexible hinge protection. This is one of the nicest phone cases I’ve ever used. You also get the Honor stylus, which works on the cover and folding screen. It’s big and can’t be carried around with your phone, so you get a sleek and stylish case for it, like one of those fancy pen cases. Additionally, there are two fast chargers in the box. I only used one and didn’t feel the need to unbox the other.

What I don’t like about this expensive phone

The only part of the layout that takes some getting used to is the placement of the volume buttons. When folded, they are on the right edge, and when unfolded, they are on the left. I always get a little confused when I want to adjust the volume.

In addition to the hardware, you get new themed wallpapers and icons. I don’t find it very attractive because it’s very minimal. With software you won’t get the Porsche experience. The notification panel is the same, the settings menu is still simple like the regular Magic V2, and it still runs Android 13.

Honor was in no hurry to update its previous phones after parting ways with Huawei. I’d like the icons to look better, and I’d like to swipe down on the home screen to access the notification panel, but you can’t do any of that. This is annoying because Magic OS requires you to swipe down from the top left corner to access the notification panel, making basic everyday tasks a bit cumbersome.

I love multitasking on foldable devices, and OnePlus Open has the best software for it, with Honor and Samsung a close second. It doesn’t support writing to a Google Doc across multiple windows, but you can view the PDF and take notes in Honor’s native document app, which isn’t ideal. However, you can solve this problem with pop-ups that are convenient and easy to use. Honor’s multitasking seems pretty good to me.

Is it worth almost $3,000?

Honor Magic V2 has a 6.43-inch clamshell screen and a 7.92-inch folding screen. OLED panels support a dynamic refresh rate of 120 Hz. The displays are bright and rich. As for the fold, it is smaller than the Galaxy Z Fold 5, but more noticeable than the OnePlus Open. I love watching films and reading about them.

The protective screen is protected by the patented “NanoCrystal Shield”. Seems to work because I dropped the phone a couple of times by mistake and the screen was fine. The Honor Magic V2 RSR is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. It’s not Qualcomm’s latest chipset, but I didn’t have any instances where I felt limited. You get 16GB of RAM and ample storage space of 1TB. It’s also the first foldable phone to work Asphalt 9: Legends at 120 frames per second.

Honor Magic V2 RSR is equipped with a 5000 mAh silicon-carbon battery with support for 66W fast charging. This gives me a full day of battery life, including lots of X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, WhatsApp, Slack and Teams all day long, and several hours of use. browsing, clicking on a few photos and watching for about 20 minutes. Call quality was clear and I had no problems hearing the people I was talking to.

The camera quality and specifications also remain the same as the regular V2. There is a 50MP main sensor, a 50MP ultra-wide-angle lens and a 20MP telephoto lens with 2.5x optical zoom and 50x digital zoom. Additionally, you get dual 16MP selfie cameras on both the interior and the cover. You can read more about the camera quality in my Magic V2 review here.

The price of Honor Magic V2 in Europe is 1999 euros, excluding offers for the base model. In contrast, the Magic V2 RSR costs €2,699 for a sleeker design, more storage and RAM, and more content in the box. In fact, this is not the best option if you want a foldable phone. Samsung, OnePlus and Google are offering their own foldable phones at a price significantly less than Magic V2 RSR. Either way, it’s not a practical purchase and you shouldn’t consider it a serious competitor to other phones.

However, if you have around $3,000 to spend and want a foldable phone that’s flashy, fluffy, and as stylish as possible, Honor now has an option just for you.

Prahar Khanna’s Original First Impressions