Following a debut in China last month, Honor launched the Magic V5 premium ultra-slim device in Europe, reiterating claims it is the world’s thinnest inward-folding smartphone. 

At an event in London, Bond Zhang, CEO of Honor UK and Ireland, noted that more than 2 million users have adopted the vendor’s foldable devices globally, describing the Magic V5 as “our most advanced folding phone yet,” with a focus on portability and durability.

The device has a folded profile of 8.8mm, an unfolded thickness of 4.1mm and a lightweight 217g body. In addition, the Magic V5 features a 7.95 inch inner display and a 6.43 inch external screen, with both supporting stylus input.

“We’ve made a huge leap forward in just four generations of phones; from the very first Honor Magic V, we’re now lighter and 40 per cent thinner compared to the very first generation,” explained Jamie Cooper, sales director at Honor.  

The foldable is equipped with a triple rear camera system comprising a 64MP periscope telephoto lens as well as 50MP main and 50MP ultra-wide sensors. In addition, the smartphone’s AI-driven imaging engine supports features including AI super zoom and motion sensing capture.

The device runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, supported by 16GB RAM and 512GB of internal storage. It is also powered by Honor’s MagicOS 9.0 and integrates with Google’s Gemini assistant, enabling AI capabilities such as writing assistance, real-time transcription and translation, image editing and on-device call translation in six languages.

With a spotlight on the foldable’s hinge durability, Honor also revealed it had broken the Guinness World Record for the heaviest weight lifted by a suspended foldable smartphone, achieving 104kg. During the flashy launch event, the vendor demonstrated the feat on stage by showcasing a London telephone booth suspended from the Magic V5, underscoring its structural durability.

Available in white, black and gold, the Magic V5 is priced at £1,699.99.

Fastest growing
The global launch follows Honor’s rapid momentum in the European foldable market. Earlier this month, a Counterpoint Research report revealed the company was the fastest-growing book-type foldable OEM in Europe through 2024, tripling its market share year-on-year from 11 per cent to 34 per cent.

Touting the vendor’s 377 per cent year-on-year growth in sales, Adam Cao, president of Honor Western Europe, revealed that “among this, 55 per cent of users are from Apple and Samsung”.

Looking at the broader market, Counterpoint’s report also forecasted strong growth for the regional foldable segment, driven in part by expectations that Apple will enter the category this year. Foldables are projected to account for nearly 10 per cent of premium smartphone sales in Europe by 2028.