Honor Magic V3 vs. Galaxy Z Fold 6: Did Honor beat Samsung?

Whenever you think of foldable phones, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 will likely be one of the first on your mind. Samsung’s sixth-generation foldable is slimmer and lighter than previous generations, but it mostly sticks to a tried-and-tested strategy of incremental upgrades that will be familiar to previous Fold users.

Samsung doesn’t have much competition in the U.S., though the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold and OnePlus Open aim to dethrone Samsung. Outside the U.S., however, there’s a big fight brewing, and Samsung has serious competition that is slimmer, thinner, and claims to offer better cameras, bigger displays, and better performance.

One of Samsung’s biggest competitors in Western Europe is Honor. Last year, the Magic V2 was one of the thinnest foldables, but it’s now been surpassed by the Honor Magic V3. It’s thinner and lighter on paper, and many of the specs are better, but is it better? Let’s see how it compares to the Galaxy Z Fold 6.

Honor Magic V3 vs. Galaxy Z Fold 6: specs

Honor Magic V3 vs. Galaxy Z Fold 6: design

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is a solid choice for many reasons, including that it’s a fantastic device when moving, but there’s no denying that the Magic V3 makes it look and feel bulky. The Magic V3 measures 4.35mm at its thinnest point when unfolded and 9.3mm when folded, and it is noticeably thinner than the Galaxy Z Fold 6 at 5.6mm and 12.1mm, respectively.

A difference of 1.3mm may not seem that big, but it makes a huge difference in daily usage. The Magic V3 feels like a regular smartphone in your pocket, whereas the Galaxy Z Fold 6 feels like a foldable phone. The Magic V3 is roughly 13 grams lighter than the Galaxy Z Fold 6, enhancing the feeling that it’s not a foldable phone.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is more symmetrical, and the Armor Aluminum frame feels slightly more premium than that of the Magic V3. The design of the Magic V3 and its focus on making it as thin as possible also means you can’t fix the display at any angle. The thin design also means it won’t stand upright when unfolded, whereas the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is ideally suited for these use cases.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 feels fantastic in the hand, and the hinge allows it to be used at different angles. The Honor Magic V3 also feels great in the hand and is impossibly thin, making it ideal for more people. Honor was also able to troll Samsung with an inscription on the phone, which is just the icing on the cake. It’s a slim win, but a win nonetheless.

Winner: Honor Magic V3

Honor Magic V3 vs. Galaxy Z Fold 6: display

Both phones have gorgeous displays, but Samsung is renowned for outstanding screens and is widely regarded as having the best smartphone displays.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is no exception and features a stunning 6.3-inch Dynamic AMOLED cover display that unfolds to a 7.6-inch display of the same caliber. Both screens support up to 2600 nits peak brightness and a variable refresh rate of 1Hz to 120Hz, while the cover display also features Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 display is slightly shorter and wider than the Galaxy Z Fold 5. This creates a more traditional smartphone-like experience while solving one of the biggest complaints about previous Samsung foldables.

The Honor Magic V3 has a 6.43-inch OLED cover display that’s slightly wider than that of the Galaxy Z Fold 6, but is the same height. This makes it more ergonomically friendly for many people and closer to the design of phones like the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. It unfolds to form a 7.92-inch AMOLED display with a variable 1Hz to 120Hz refresh rate, 1800 nits peak brightness, and Dolby Vision support.

The Magic V3 does feature a few nifty software features to improve eye comfort and overall ocular health. The industry’s first AI defocus display is designed to help reduce transient myopia by 13 degrees after 25 minutes of screen time. Deliberate software features also help improve eye comfort and filter out blue light for a more pleasant viewing experience.

The Magic V3 has an impressive display, but Samsung displays are the best on any smartphone, and the Galaxy Z Fold 6 continues this trend. That said, Honor’s eye tech is quite interesting and could benefit those with vision problems.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6

Honor Magic V3 vs. Galaxy Z Fold 6: performance and battery

You’ll be hard-pressed to find many differences in the performance of these two phones. Both are powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 — although the Galaxy Z Fold 6 has a slightly tweaked version for Galaxy — and both feature at least 12GB of RAM.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 offers 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB of storage, all with the same amount of RAM. Meanwhile, the Honor Magic V3 has the same storage options, but 16GB of RAM in all but the 256GB model. The differences are fairly minuscule; both phones are fast, fluid, and smooth and they deliver flagship performance.

They are far less even-matched when you consider the battery life. We haven’t fully tested the battery on the Honor Magic V3, but it is noticeably bigger and likely much better. Samsung still hasn’t embraced the biggest battery sizes or fastest charging, and Honor shows you can have a supremely thin foldable with a big battery.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 features a 4,400mAh battery and supports 25W wired charging, which can charge the phone to 50% in 30 minutes. There’s also 15W wired charging and 4.5W reverse wireless charging. These specs are identical to those of the Galaxy Z Fold 5, and Samsung hasn’t significantly changed its battery technology or sizes in years. It could — and should — be much better, as Honor, OnePlus, and Xiaomi have shown.

The Honor Magic V3 battery is 17% larger at 5,150mAh and represents an area where Honor is unique. While most phone makers use lithium polymer (Li-Po) batteries, Honor was the first to use silicon-carbon batteries. These have several advantages, as they are lighter and smaller and can store more energy in the same capacity — though may come with the downside of a lower life expectancy. This enables the Magic V3 to be as thin as possible while supporting 66W wired charging, 50W wireless charging, and 5W reverse wireless charging.

Both phones should deliver similar performance, but battery life isn’t Samsung’s strong suit, and the Magic V3 should beat the Galaxy Z Fold 6 hands down here.

Winner: Honor Magic V3

Honor Magic V3 vs. Galaxy Z Fold 6: cameras

While many people may have been hoping for improved Galaxy Z Fold 6 cameras, there is no difference from last year, except for improvements delivered by the latest Snapdragon chipset. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 camera is just fine, but fairly underwhelming compared to the competition.

On paper, the Honor Magic V3 has a much better camera overall. The 50-megapixel wide sensor has a wider aperture (f/1.6 to f/1.8), letting in more light. It’s paired with a 50MP periscope telephoto lens that delivers 3.5x optical zoom and a 40MP ultrawide camera. The photos captured are fantastic.

For selfies, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 has a 4MP under-display camera on the main display and a 10MP camera with an f/2.2 aperture on the cover display. The under-display camera is an example of a company sacrificing performance for a more uniform look, so you’ll want to use the front selfie camera where possible.

The Honor Magic V3 takes much better selfies, with the same 20MP selfie camera found on the main and cover displays. This means you’ll get the same performance regardless of which one you use, and the same can’t be said for the Galaxy Z Fold 6. Despite the Galaxy S24 Ultra having a fantastic camera, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 doesn’t, especially compared to every other foldable phone. Let’s hope that Samsung improves the camera next year.

However, it’s worth noting that while both phones allow you to use the Cover Display as a viewfinder to take selfies with the main cameras, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 has a much better implementation. The Magic V3 has an option to do so, but in testing, it was much harder to actually take a photo using this mode.

Better hardware, almost as good software tuning, and outstanding zoom performance make this an easy win for the Honor Magic V3.

Winner: Honor Magic V3

Honor Magic V3 vs. Galaxy Z Fold 6: software and updates

If there’s one area where Samsung has an almost unassailable lead, it is software. In particular, it is in One UI’s approach to multitasking, which Samsung has been building and perfecting for over a decade. Despite many of these features also being present in the core Android OS — and, therefore, on the Magic V3 — the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is a productivity champion.

The Honor Magic V3 also features support for a stylus. Unlike the Galaxy Z Fold 6, which limits the S Pen to the main display, the Magic V3 supports stylus input on both displays. It’s unclear whether there are any software features designed for the stylus like the S Pen has, but it’s nice to see another foldable that supports a stylus. It also proves that Samsung should enable S Pen support on both displays.

Both companies have deployed AI as part of the software experience. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 has all the Galaxy AI features you would expect, while Honor has built similar versions with a few tweaks. Instead of Circle to Search, you have Magic Portal, which elevates the experience by making it effortless to find something and quickly buy it.

The Magic V3 also comes with two particularly unique AI features. First, it helps reduce call noise by using AI for two-way noise cancellation. This means audio from both sides of the call is filtered for noise. Second, a nifty AI Deepfake Detection feature kicks in when you’re on a video call, then identifies the person on the call and checks whether their face has been deep-faked or swapped. This provides reassurance that the person you’re talking to is not an imposter and is a unique way of using AI to improve the overall smartphone experience.

Despite these unique features, the Magic V3 does have a distinct disadvantage: it won’t last as long. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 will receive software and security updates for seven years, while the Honor Magic V3 will receive four years of software updates and five years of security updates. Both phones run Android 14 out of the box, but timely long-term updates aren’t Honor’s strong point, even though the company continues to improve in this area.

Samsung has a strong advantage due to the S Pen, One UI’s incredible multitasking, and seven years of updates.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6

Honor Magic V3 vs. Galaxy Z Fold 6: price and availability

Buying a foldable phone requires a significant investment, and neither of these phones bucks that trend. At the time of writing, it is unclear how much the Magic V3 will retail for, but the Magic V2 was slightly cheaper than the Galaxy Z Fold 5, and we’d expect this trend to continue.

The Magic V3 comes in three fantastic colors: Black, Green, and a gorgeous Orange. The latter is the only one with a faux leather textured finish. Regardless of color, you’ll also get a case in the box and the 66W-enabled SuperCharger brick.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 has several color choices, including Navy, Silver, Pink, White, and Black. The latter is exclusive to Samsung’s website and features a textured carbon fiber finish. The box includes no case or charger, although the best Galaxy Z Fold 6 cases list is plentiful.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 retails at $1,800, but Samsung always offers promotional trade-in offers. The best Z Fold 6 deals discount the phone by up to $1,000 with a trade-in, and you can also buy the Galaxy Z Fold 6 at most retailers and carriers. The Honor Magic V3 will likely have much more limited availability, with no official release in the U.S. However, it will be available via Amazon in many countries and likely via European carriers.

Honor Magic V3 vs. Galaxy Z Fold 6: verdict

Deciding between these two flagship foldable phones ultimately depends on your priorities. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is widely available via most carriers, so you don’t need to pay for it outright. It has better software, and while it isn’t the best phone overall, it is the most convenient to buy and get support for.

The Honor Magic V3 has much better hardware, a fantastic camera, and is supremely thin. If you live in a country where it’s available from your carrier, it’s a great phone that won’t disappoint. However, you’ll need to buy it outright if you live in the U.S. or where Honor doesn’t have a carrier partnership. Honor usually offers discounts and trade-in deals, making it cheaper than the Galaxy Z Fold 6, but it will almost certainly mean paying more upfront.

If money is no object, the Honor Magic V3 ticks almost every box. It proves you can have a thin foldable with a big battery, fast charging, and stylus support on both displays. The cameras are much better than those on the Galaxy Z Fold 6, providing a playbook for Samsung to imitate in its future foldables.