Where the reviewers agree
- The phone is very thin and light for a book-style foldable. — TechRadar, Tech Advisor, Android Police, The Verge, The Guardian, Tweakers, SmartWorld, Phonandroid, PC-Welt, Trusted Reviews
- The telephoto camera is a highlight, though Tweakers, The Verge and Phonandroid are less impressed. — Android Police, Tech Advisor, SmartWorld, PC-Welt, Tweakers, The Verge, Phonandroid
- MagicOS software is a weak point, seen as less polished or less pleasant than rivals. — Tech Advisor, Android Police, The Verge, Android Central, The Guardian, Tweakers, SmartWorld, Phonandroid, PC-Welt, Trusted Reviews
- Performance is strong, driven by the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip. — TechRadar, Tech Advisor, Android Police, The Guardian, PC-Welt, Trusted Reviews
Where they disagree
- Battery life is praised as excellent by most, but Tweakers calls it relatively mediocre despite the large battery. — TechRadar, The Verge, Android Central, The Guardian, SmartWorld, Trusted Reviews, Tweakers
- Price is a split point: Phonandroid and Tech Advisor call it good value, while The Guardian and PC-Welt call it expensive. — Phonandroid, Tech Advisor, The Guardian, PC-Welt
- Dust and water resistance is seen as a strength by PC-Welt and Android Central but a weakness by Phonandroid and The Verge. — PC-Welt, Android Central, Phonandroid, The Verge
Bottom line: Suits buyers who want a very thin book-style foldable with strong cameras, performance and battery, and who can accept MagicOS. Main trade-offs are the software, the camera bump, and the lack of a US release.
Summarised with AI from the 11 reviews below — each one is linked in full.
What the reviewers said
Tweakers NL
No scoreFeb 20, 2026A slim foldable with excellent cameras, especially the telephoto, and strong hardware, but its screens, software and battery life lag behind rivals. Best for camera-focused buyers.
- Slim design that looks like a normal phone when folded
- Excellent camera system, especially the telephoto lens
- Fast charging
- Long update promise
- Dust and water resistance improved over predecessor
- Software experience less pleasant than competitors
- Relatively mediocre battery life despite large battery
- Displays lag behind competition in brightness
- Hardware throttles under heavy load
TechRadar UK
4.5/5Oct 19, 2025A very impressive booklet foldable with thin design, excellent displays, huge battery and strong multitasking; the clearest rival to the Galaxy Z Fold 7, though UK/EU-only.
- Thinnest booklet foldable at 4.1mm unfolded
- Two excellent, closely matched displays
- Very large battery for a foldable
- Fast performance with Snapdragon 8 Elite
- Comfortable rounded design and flat-opening hinge
- Poor selfie cameras
- Some software not optimized for folding display
- Large camera bump
- Slightly noisy hinge
- Not sold in the US
PC-Welt DE
4.5/5Sep 22, 2025Honor's Magic V5 is one of the most capable book-style foldables, with strong hardware, stylus support and cameras, at a lower price than rivals, though MagicOS and a smaller main…
- Very thin when open and closed for a book-style foldable
- Keeps Magic Pen stylus support unlike Samsung
- Strong camera system with telephoto
- Snapdragon 8 Elite, 16 GB RAM and 512 GB storage
- IP58 and IP59 ratings, the highest water resistance among foldables
- MagicOS is an acquired taste
- Smaller main display than rival foldables with thicker bezels
- Screen hard to read in sunlight
- Audio sounds flat and lacks bass
- Expensive, and Honor customer service reportedly inconsistent
Android Police US
8.5/10Sep 6, 2025A very thin, well-specced foldable with an excellent telephoto camera and strong performance; MagicOS 9 software is less polished than rivals, but it is a good buy at its lower…
- Very thin when folded and open
- Excellent 3x telephoto camera
- Fast wired and wireless charging
- Snapdragon 8 Elite with 16GB RAM
- IP58/IP59 dust and water resistance
- Software setup is slow and frustrating
- MagicOS 9 less polished than rivals
- No US release
- No charger included in the box
- Photos can be overly contrasty
Tech Advisor UK
4.5/5Aug 28, 2025A highly competitive book-style foldable with excellent performance, strong cameras and features, undercutting rivals on price, provided you accept MagicOS.
- Excellent performance from Snapdragon 8 Elite
- Feature-rich software experience
- Among the best foldable camera systems
- Keeps stylus support unlike rivals
- Very thin and light for a foldable
- MagicOS may not suit everyone
- Smaller main display than rivals
- Audio quality could be better
- Expensive
- Honor customer service network may be weaker
Phonandroid FR
No scoreAug 28, 2025A very good foldable that is thin, light and well built, with strong specs and value, though its telephoto camera, software polish and dust resistance fall short.
- Very thin and light for a book-style foldable
- Strong specs: performance, battery and fast charging
- Priced below 2000 euros with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage
- Bright, color-accurate outer and inner displays
- Good stereo speakers and multiple microphones for video
- Telephoto camera underwhelms relative to its promise
- Only IP58/59 dust and water rating versus IP68 rivals
- Six years of updates versus seven from Google and Samsung
- Software integration less intuitive than Samsung or Google
- Dolby Vision support absent; hinge looks somewhat kitsch
The Guardian UK
No scoreAug 28, 2025Excellent thin foldable with fast chip, great battery and capable cameras, but unpolished Android software and high price hold it back.
- Very slim and light when folded for a foldable
- Fast Snapdragon 8 Elite performance
- Very long battery life across both screens
- Capable telephoto camera and decent overall cameras
- Good inner screen brightness
- Very expensive at £1,700 / €1,999.99
- MagicOS software lacks polish and has irritating behaviours
- Notification windows open small, forcing extra taps
- No Flex-style partially folded mode
- Costly to repair, more fragile than slab phones
SmartWorld IT
8.5/10Aug 28, 2025Honor's thin book-style foldable is the best premium foldable available, with strong cameras, huge battery and fast charging, though software needs a refresh and pricing is good at launch.
- Very thin and light for a book-style foldable
- Excellent 3x telephoto camera with high resolution
- Huge battery and very fast charging
- Generous 16GB RAM and 512GB storage base
- Seven years of OS and security updates
- Software looks dated and could use a refresh
- Design, especially the gold finish, may not suit everyone
- AI features are imperfect
- Large camera bump when closed
- No UWB support
Android Central US
4.25/5Aug 28, 2025A sleek foldable with the best cameras and brightest OLED panels in its class, plus excellent battery life. Software needs a visual refresh, but it is a strong Galaxy Z…
- Sleek design with a crease-free inner display
- Outstanding cameras for a foldable
- Bright OLED panels with strong eye-care features
- Excellent battery life
- IP58 and IP59 dust and water resistance
- Large rear camera module wobbles on tables
- MagicOS interface needs a redesign and polish
- Ships with Android 15 rather than Android 16
- Thicker and heavier than Vivo X Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Fold…
- Smaller cover and inner panels than rivals
The Verge US
7/10Aug 28, 2025A rather good book-style foldable whose main appeal is its large battery rather than its record thinness. Compelling for buyers outside the US, with the main caveat being weaker repair…
- Thinnest book-style foldable, though only by a fraction
- Large 5,820mAh battery with strong real-world endurance
- Fast 66W wired charging
- Bright LTPO OLED inner and outer displays
- Consistent cameras with excellent main sensor in daylight
- Chunky camera bump adds significant thickness when closed
- Telephoto struggles with moving subjects and tricky lighting
- Silicon-carbon battery may degrade faster
- IP58/59 rating is less robust than some rivals
- No US availability
Trusted Reviews UK
4.5/5Aug 28, 2025A very slim book-style foldable with excellent cameras and strong battery life, held back mainly by MagicOS.
- Very slim and light when folded
- Excellent camera array with upgraded telephoto and ultrawide
- Two-day battery life
- Bright inner and outer displays
- Solid performance across the board
- MagicOS feels cumbersome compared with rivals
- Autofocus can be hit or miss
- Black colour option looks dull
- Camera module protrudes noticeably
Verdicts, pros and cons are short summaries in our words of each publisher's review; scores are as the publisher gave them. Specs are taken from the reviews' spec boxes — where they differ, we show the value most of them give; price is the US launch price of the base model. Read the originals for the full picture.
