Honor Magic V6 Review: Could This Glamorous Smartphone Outshine Samsung?

Editor’s Note: I experienced some performance issues with this Magic V6. Out of three units I tested and another tested by a colleague, three showed poor benchmark results. The last one redeemed itself with scores (almost all) worthy of a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. All units were retail models, confirmed by Honor. Therefore, it’s possible to receive a faulty unit.

The market for foldable smartphones remains niche but is establishing itself. So, how can one continue to stand out and spark interest among targeted consumers? At Honor, we’re already at the Magic V6, which we’ve tested to give you our full review. Does it manage to stand out?

The smartphone heavily relies on a thin yet robust design, strong battery life, and, of course, solid photo and video capabilities.

Honor Magic V6Technical Specs

This review was conducted with an Honor Magic V6 provided by the brand.

Honor Magic V6Design

The design of the Honor Magic V6 is very sleek: up to 4 mm on the white version, 4.1 mm on other colors. When folded, it measures 8.75 mm (in white) or 9 mm (other colors).

For this test, Honor lent us a red Magic V6, so not the thinnest version available. And, in its folded format, the phone feels very much like holding a large traditional smartphone, similar to a Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra.

It’s worth noting that the Honor Magic V6 weighs 219 grams. Technically heavy, but relatively light for a foldable smartphone of this size.

I appreciate Honor’s effort to reduce the bulk of the camera block at the back. This was a real issue on the Magic V5 from 2025, creating a kind of front-heavy imbalance. With the Magic V6, the protrusion of the round module at the back is much more moderate without losing its appeal. The manufacturer still prominently features this large circle decorated with a metallic outline.

The style remains flashy, bling-bling announcing its presence. Whether you like it or not, Honor knows how to maintain a style that sets it apart. Our red version is probably the epitome of this aesthetic with a coating reminiscent of velvet. I must say: I am not a fan, but I don’t necessarily hold this as a negative. On one hand, because some of my colleagues at Frandroid find it appealing. On the other hand, because I have no objective complaints about this design. It does not hinder handling, so everyone can choose according to their taste. My only question is about the longevity of such a material. Will it age well?

Otherwise, the Honor Magic V6 is reassuring with double IP68 and IP69 certification. It is waterproof to a certain extent, resistant to high-pressure water jets, and fine dust.

Finally, regarding the screen crease, it is noticeable, especially if viewed from the sides and when light reflections highlight it. However, it is never bothersome, and I literally forgot about it when using the phone unfolded in front of me.

Honor Magic V6Screens

Two OLED displays with refresh rates up to 120 Hz. The outer screen measures 6.52 inches (2420 x 1080 pixels) and the inner, foldable one is 7.95 inches (2352 x 2172 pixels). These are the two screens equipping the Honor Magic V6.

Let me say upfront, I had a minor mishap regarding the brightness of the internal screen. That’s why I dedicate a segment a few paragraphs below at the end of this Screens section of the test.

I’ll start directly with the color fidelity that we measure using our probe and Portrait Displays’ CalMan software. My tests led me to conclude that the default screen mode set one notch towards warm is the best solution on both screens for the most accurate colorimetry.

A quick reminder, color fidelity is expressed with the Delta E value. In SDR, the closer this index is to 3 (or below 3), the better, and the difference between the actual color and the one displayed on the screen becomes imperceptible to the eye. In HDR, we tolerate higher results. Here’s what I got for the external screen.

Regarding the average temperature, the perfect balance aimed for is 6500 K. On the Honor Magic V6, with 6410 K, the warm mode described above logically leans towards red, but without excess. If you don’t adjust the screen setting, color fidelity diminishes while the whites will more markedly lean towards blue hues.

And here’s for the internal screen, always with the Warm mode configured.

We thus maintain similar standards on the internal screen, with the only difference being a slight loss in HDR fidelity, but a closer approach to perfect balance in terms of average temperature.

Let’s move on to the colorimetric coverage. It’s about the ability of a panel to display a certain range of colors. The sRGB space is supposed to be easy to manage, the DCI-P3, more extensive, can represent a challenge. On the Honor Magic V6, both screens record the same performances in this regard:

• sRGB covered at 121% (this is largely satisfactory);
• DCI-P3 covered at 81% (this is very correct, but the phone does not stand out).

Let’s Talk About Maximum Brightness

I must now talk about the brightness of the two screens. For the external panel, we measured a peak at 1200 nits in SDR and 2900 nits in HDR. This is really very good and within the norms of what we can have on the high-end with OLED.

However, on the internal screen, despite all my efforts, it was impossible to go beyond 1200 nits, both in SDR and HDR. There, it’s much more problematic, but I’m not ringing the alarm bell yet.

First, it is important to understand that for safety reasons, the OLED screens of our smartphones do not reach their maximum brightness if you manually move the slider to full. To really reach the peak, you need to set the phone on automatic brightness and expose it to maximum light.

In our laboratory, some smartphones give everything with a simple well-oriented LED flash on them. Sometimes, you need to bring out a larger lamp, and some stubborn ones even require a professional spotlight that we use for our shooting studio (and capable of dazzling everyone in the room). With the Honor Magic V6, even this radical measure was not enough: the internal screen adamantly refused to rise above 1200 nits, even in HDR.

This very much resembles a protection measure applied behind the scenes by Honor, and I have not been able to bypass it (even by setting the Magic V6 to Performance mode in the battery options). Yet, the official specification sheet of the device indicates a localized peak up to 5000 nits, which could make us hope for real measurements around 3000 nits (we make our measurements over more extensive areas of the screen).

Moreover, in the street under full sunlight, I was able to read what was displayed on the screen, although I sometimes had to squint my eyes. I feel that very particular conditions are required to trigger the peak brightness of the internal screen and that otherwise, it settles for providing a sufficient experience for indoor use. It is true that one is more likely to unfold the phone once seated at home or on the train, for example, rather than walking down the street, but that’s not a good excuse, I think.

Honor Magic V6Software

The Honor Magic V6 runs on the MagicOS 10 interface based on Android 16. The first very great quality to mention here is obviously the excellent software support with 7 years of updates guaranteed (security patches + Android versions). Honor is on par with Samsung and Google in this regard, and it doesn’t get better on Android.

Moreover, Honor has no reason to be ashamed of the AI functions it offers. In addition to obviously having an integration of Gemini (albeit less extensive than on Pixel or Galaxy), the Honor Magic V6 has its own set of AI-boosted options. And if you’re afraid of missing out, don’t panic: a section in the settings lists them all. In short, we’re on the same standing as for the Honor Magic 6 Pro tested a few months earlier.

Customization is also well present on MagicOS, and we notably note an option for transparency largely inspired by iOS 26’s Liquid Glass. The goal here is to allow you to adjust the transparency level of the home screen widgets, the quick settings panel, and the notifications shade.

Minimum Transparency

Maximum Transparency

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Maya Singh

Maya Singh is a senior editor covering tablets and hybrid devices. Her work explores how these tools reshape digital productivity and learning. She also contributes to feature editorials on emerging tech.

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