The HONOR Magic V3 is one of the most talked-about foldable smartphones this year. There is a good reason for that. This handset is the thinnest and lightest book-style foldable in the market. It is also available in a number of markets globally. Well, in this article, we’ll compare it with one of the most popular foldable smartphones on the planet. It’s a comparison between the HONOR Magic V3 vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6.

The HONOR Magic V3 launched back in July, while it arrived to global markets in September. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 also arrived in July, only two days before the Magic V3 did. We will first list the specifications of both smartphones and will then move to compare them across a number of sections. That includes design, display, performance, battery, cameras, and audio. Let’s get to it, shall we?

Specs

HONOR Magic V3 & Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, respectively

– Screen size (main):
7.92-inch Foldable LTPO AMOLED (120Hz, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, 1,800 nits)
7.6-inch Foldable Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X display (120Hz, HDR10+, 2,600 nits)
– Screen Size (cover):
6.43-inch LTPO OLED (120Hz, 5,000 nits)
6.3-inch Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X (120Hz, 1,600 nits)
– Display resolution (main):
2156 x 2344
1856 x 2160
– Display resolution (cover):
2376 x 1060
2376 x 968
– SoC:
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy
– RAM:
12GB/16GB (LPDDR5X)
12GB (LPDDR5X)
– Storage:
256GB/512GB/1TB (UFS 4.0)
– Rear cameras:
50MP (wide, f/1.6 aperture, 1/1.56-inch sensor size, OIS, PDAF), 40MP (ultrawide, f/2.2 aperture, 112-degree FoV), 50MP (periscope telephoto, 1/2.51-inch sensor size, OIS, 3.5x optical zoom)
50MP (wide, f/1.8 aperture, Dual Pixel PDAF OIS), 12MP (ultrawide, 123-degree FoV), 10MP (telephoto, 3x optical zoom)
– Front cameras:
20MP (main display, f/2.2 aperture), 32MP (cover display, f/2.4 aperture)
4MP (under display, main display, f/1.8 aperture), 10MP (cover display, f/2.2 aperture)
– Battery:
5,150mAh
4,400mAh
– Charging:
66W wired, 50W wireless, 5W reverse wired (charger included)
25W wired, 15W wireless, 4.5W reverse wireless (no charger)
– Dimensions (unfolded):
156.6 x 145.3 x 4.35 mm or 4.4 mm
158.7 x 139.7 x 5.8mm
– Dimensions (folded):
156.6 x 74.0 x 9.2 mm or 9.3 mm
153.5 x 68.1 x 12.1 mm
– Weight:
226/230 grams
239 grams
– Connectivity:
5G, LTE, NFC, Wi-Fi, USB Type-C, Bluetooth 5.3
– Security:
Side-facing fingerprint scanner
– OS:
Android 14 with MagicOS 8.0.1
Android 14 with One UI 6.1.1
– Price:
€1,999
$1,699
– Buy:
HONOR Magic V3 (HONOR)
Galaxy Z Fold 6 (Samsung / Best Buy)

HONOR Magic V3 vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: Design

Both of these smartphones are made out of metal and glass. The thing is, one of the Magic V3 colors does come with a vegan leather backplate, one of three, its orange model. That is also the phone’s lightest and thinnest model, the glass variant is slightly thicker and heavier. The HONOR Magic V3 measures only 4.35/4.4mm when unfolded, and 9.2/9.3mm when folded, while it weighs 226/230 grams. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 measures 5.6mm when unfolded, 12.1mm when folded, and weighs 239 grams.

The difference here is more than apparent on paper, and it’s easily noticeable when you actually hold the devices. The HONOR Magic V3 feels like a regular smartphone in the hand, while the Galaxy Z Fold 6 most certainly does not. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 has flat sides, and it’s more body too. HONOR opted for more curves, which also helps with making it feel like a regular phone. Both devices have cover displays with a centered display camera hole. Both of them also include a fingerprint scanner in the power/lock button.

On the main display of the HONOR Magic V3, you’ll find a display camera hole. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 hides its camera under the main display. HONOR’s handset has a camera oreo on the back. There are three cameras on the inside. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 has three vertically-aligned camera on the back, in the top-left corner. The backplate on the Magic V3 does curve towards the edges, the same cannot be said for the Galaxy Z Fold 6’s.

HONOR’s handset comes with an IPX8 certification for water resistance. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 offers IP48 water resistance. HONOR trumps Samsung in this regard. Both phones do offer stylus support, by the way. Glass variants of both devices are quite slippery. The vegan leather variant of the Magic V3 does add much-needed grip to the equation.

HONOR Magic V3 vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: Display

The HONOR Magic V3 includes a 7.92-inch 2156 x 2344 Foldable LTPO AMOLED display. That’s its main display, and it can project up to 1 billion colors. HDR10+ content is also supported, as is Dolby Vision. This display’s refresh rate goes up to 120Hz, and the peak brightness is 1,800 nits. The screen-to-body ratio is around 88&. The cover display measures 6.43 inches, and it has a resolution of 2376 x 1080. That’s an LTPO OLED display, and it also can project up to 1 billion colors. Its refresh rate goes up to 120Hz, and Dolby Vision support is included. The peak brightness here is 5,000 nits, in theory.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6

Samsung’s foldable, on the other hand, has a 7.6-inch Foldable Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X main display. That panel also has a refresh rate of up to 120Hz and HDR10+ support. It goes up to 2,600 nits in terms of brightness, and the screen-to-body ratio is around 91%. The resolution here is 1856 x 2160. The cover display, on the other hand, measures 6.3 inches and has a resolution of 2376 x 968. That’s a Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X panel with a 120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 2,600 nits. The Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protects this panel.

The displays on the two phones do have slightly different color tuning, but you can alter that in the settings. The point is, all four panels are great. They’re not only vivid and sharp, but they offer great viewing angles too. The touch response is good on all of them as well. The Magic V3 does have an edge in terms of high-frequency PWM dimming, a major advantage. So if you are amongst the people sensitive to it, you should definitely note this difference. If not, both smartphones will serve you just fine in terms of display quality.

HONOR Magic V3 vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: Performance

The HONOR Magic V3 is fueled by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC, Qualcomm’s 3nm processor. That chip is paired with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 flash storage. The Galaxy Z Fold 6, on the other hand, comes with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy. That’s the same chip as the one the Magic V3 uses, but it’s overclocked. Samsung also includes 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM in its phone, along with UFS 4.0 flash storage.

Needless to say, both of these phones are immensely powerful, and that does reflect on performance. Both companies did a good job of adapting their software to work well with the provided hardware. They are different on the software side of things, but both phones fly through everyday tasks. Getting either phone to slow down is a chore, to say the least. Regardless of whether we’re talking about opening apps, multitasking, media consumption, or something else entirely,

Gaming in particular is really good on both phones. They can both run basically any game you can think of, and do a great job while doing it… on high graphical settings. There is not lag to talk about, and even though they both do get warm, they never got too warm for us, let alone to hot to hold or anything like that.

HONOR Magic V3 vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: Battery

You’ll find a 5,150mAh battery inside the HONOR Magic V3. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, on the other hand, has a 4,400mAh battery on the inside. Needless to say, on paper, HONOR did a much better job here. The company used a silicon-carbon battery too, which is what allowed it to use such a high capacity. So not only does it have a battery with much more capacity, but it’s considerably lighter and thinner.

Does this battery capacity advantage reflect on actual battery life, though? Well, yes, but not as much as you’d think. Both phones can last most people a whole day and even get rather high screen-on-time, depending on your usage. But you can also end up with around 5.5-6 hours of screen-on-time, or lower. It all depends on your usage. The point is, the difference is not nowhere near what the battery capacity indicates. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 did do worse for us, but only barely.

In terms of charging, the Magic V3 easily shames the Galaxy Z Fold 6. It supports 66W wired, 50W wireless, and 5W reverse wired charging. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 supports 25W wired, 15W wireless, and 4.5W reverse wireless charging. Do note that the Magic V3 also includes a charger in the box, while the Galaxy Z Fold 6 does not.

HONOR Magic V3 vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: Cameras

Each of these phones has three cameras on the back. The HONOR Magic V3 includes a 50-megapixel main camera (1/1.56-inch sensor, f/1.6 aperture), a 40-megapixel ultrawide unit (112-degree FoV), and a 50-megapixel periscope telephoto camera (3.5x optical zoom, 1/2.51-inch sensor). The Galaxy Z Fold 6 has a 50-megapixel main camera (1/1.56-inch sensor, f/1.8 aperture), a 12-megapixel ultrawide unit (123-degree FoV), and a 10-megapixel telephoto camera (3x optical zoom).

HONOR Magic V3

Neither of these two phones is the best smartphone camera on the market. Many would say the same for their ranking amongst foldable smartphones, and so would we. However, both phones do offer good cameras. The HONOR Magic V3 is our preferred shooter between the two, though. Its pictures usually looked a bit more lifelike without getting kind of obvious oversharpening and oversaturation effects. That’s something that the Galaxy Z Fold 6 tends to do in certain conditions.

We also preferred the Magic V3 shots in low light, even though both phones did a good job. Both of them like to provide rather bright shots in low light, for better or worse. The ultrawide camera on the Magic V3 is easily the better of the two, and the same goes for its periscope telephoto camera. The telephoto camera on the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is limited in a number of ways. Not only is the sensor size rather small, but it’s a regular telephoto shooter.

Audio

Both of these phones do include stereo speakers. The ones on the Galaxy Z Fold 6 are noticeably louder, though the ones on the Magic V3 are not exactly dim. We were perfectly happy with their perforamnce. Also, both phones offer good and balanced sound output.

What you will not find on either phone is an audio jack. Each of them does have a Type-C port, though, so you can use that to connect your wired headphones. If you prefer wireless connectivity, Bluetooth 5.3 is included on both phones.