After Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo or even Google, it is now Honor’s turn to give us a first glimpse of his future folding smartphone.
Since seceding from its parent company Huawei, Honor has continued to walk its course for better and for worse. Like all manufacturers, it is currently presenting some of its most interesting novelties in anticipation of CES 2022; today we discover the fruit of its first escapade in the world of folding smartphones, the Honor Magic V.
The Chinese manufacturer announced the upcoming release of this device in a Twitter post spotted by The Verge. Unfortunately, there is no technical information to learn from. We are just entitled to a rendering certainly elegant, but quite mysterious which is content to vaguely reveal the silhouette of the machine. We can indeed distinguish the famous hinge, but it seems impossible to extract details of other elements such as the photo block.
Unfold all the potential. This is HONOR’s first foldable flagship phone, the #HONORMagicV. pic.twitter.com/kijORIGxg1
– HONOR (@Honorglobal) December 22, 2021
A still very mysterious device
Regarding technical specifications, the scarce information available comes from The Elec. Korean media understands that the device will carry a 8-inch interior screen as well as a 6.52-inch front screen. This suggests that the Magic V will be entitled to a vertica foldl which will allow it to unfold to increase the display surface.
This operation would therefore place the Magic V in direct competition with Samsung’s Fold series. And that’s not the only point that brings this device closer to the star of foldable smartphones. Still according to The Elec, it will also use the same ultra-thin glass (UTG for ultra-thin glass ”) than the Z Fold 3.
The foldable smartphone niche is booming
In recent years, folding devices have more or less become the Roll’s Royce of the smartphone ecosystem. It is a concept which seems to be democratized, and could eventually become the queen category; this niche has therefore become a knife battlefield drawn where the different manufacturers compete to cultivate an avant-garde image and claim the unofficial title of “king of innovation”.
At present, Samsung still seems to dominate this segment of the head and shoulders. But if Korean is indeed gone one step ahead, the gap is gradually narrowing as its competitors like Xiaomi, Oppo or even Google are added to the race. A competition which Samsung would certainly do without, but which will probably be beneficial for consumers.
It could indeed lower the tariffs on this still quite exclusive technology, and by definition extremely expensive. So let’s meet in a few years to find out if all manufacturers will end up catching the bandwagon, or if folding devices will remain a niche for wealthy geeks.
