Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold vs Honor Magic V3: Battle for the future of foldables

We're five years into the foldable smartphone idea now, and things are finally starting to heat up. The Samsung dominance is crumbling as more and more brands start to explore this futuristic smartphone design.

Google, for example, launched its second iteration of the foldable Pixel, nesting it under the Pixel 9 family, while Honor is a couple generations ahead with the extremely thin Magic V3.

After Google decided to retouch the original Pixel Fold, the new device is much closer to the Galaxy Fold than before, while Honor has been perfecting the V model for some time to offer the world's thinnest foldable (at least for now) in the face of the V3.

Which one of these two deserves your attention and hard-earned money? Time to find out!

Remember the time when phone manufacturers competed to create the thinnest phone ever? Back in 2006, Samsung unveiled the X820, dubbed "the world's slimmest phone" with a thickness of 6.9 mm. Well, we're back fighting that battle again.

In the realm of foldable phones, though, shedding thickness really matters because you fold the thing in half, effectively doubling the said thickness. Honor has managed to beat the 2006 record, creating a smartphone that's just 4.35 mm thick (9.2 mm folded).

Google, on the other hand, managed 5.1 mm (or 10.5 mm folded), and even though we're talking about a millimeter here, the difference is very clear. Holding both devices in hand, the Honor V3 is sleeker and also ligher. It really feels like a normal phone when folded.

Now, there are some design differences as well; the Pixel 9 Pro Fold has flatter sides, and the radius is higher on the curved corners. The camera system also looks different; the Honor has an octagonal camera bump, while the Pixel sports a more conventional square-ish system.

The Honor also employs some exotic materials such as Special Fiber (similar to fiberglass, Kevlar, and carbon fiber), Super Steel (the hinge should withstand 500,000 folds and unfolds), Super Armored Inner Screen (nanoscale coating allegedly making the flexible screen 500% more scratch-resistant), and NanoCrystal Shield for the cover screen. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold uses Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 and aluminum.

The inner displays of these phones are now at a stage where they can fully compete with non-folding, non-flexible panels. Not only can they refresh at 120 Hz, but they are also very bright. In terms of brightness wars, Google wins this one, as the Pixel can output 1,500+ nits. The Magic V3 is now slouch eigher, with a little over 1,000.

The resolution and PPI are a tad better on the Honor Magic V2, as well as color accuracy, but overall these are really close.

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold uses Google's in-house developed Tensor G4 chipset, a fourth generation of the silicon, which is optimized for machine learning tasks but lags behind in raw power synthetic benchmarks.

On the other hand, the Honor V3 comes with the current best Qualcomm processor, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and, unsurprisingly, wins the benchmark battle. Both of these phones are available with 16GB of RAM, but the base model of the V3 comes with only 12GB.

Unsurprisingly, the Honor wins overall, with amazing longevity when it comes to YouTube streaming. The other two test results are quite close, with the Pixel even winning the web browsing and gaming rounds.

When it comes to charging, we have an undisputed winner, and it's the Honor Magic V3. It uses 66W wired charging and can charge from 0 to 100% in 48 minutes. This super-thin phone also supports wireless charging (how did they manage to fit the coils is beyond us), and if you have Honor's proprietary SuperCharge wireless station, you can charge the phone with 50W of power.

Now, the Honor Magic series phones have always demonstrated excellent audio capabilities. Actually, the Magic 6 Pro is still one of the best sounding phones we've ever tested. This has transferred to some extent to the Honor Magic V3, the sound quality is very good, and the loudness is there as well.

Bear in mind that the loudspeakers are in the left wing of the body, which may lead to strange mono-sounding audio depending on the orientation of the phone. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold also comes with decent audio and haptics, not as powerful or as strong as the one in the V3, but comparable.

Here's a quick specs table for the number nerds out there. Check out our full Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold vs Honor Magic V3 specs comparison on PhoneArena.

So, which one wins the foldable battle? If you want the thinnest foldable on the market right now, the Honor Magic V3 is the clear winner. It also has a bigger battery, faster charging, and a faster processor. The camera system is on par with the Pixel, and both displays are gorgeous, albeit not as bright as the ones on the Pixel.

On the other hand, the Magic V3 is difficult to get in the US, and it costs more. Currently, it sells for 1,699 British pounds or around 2,000 euros, which is still more expensive than the $1,799 price tag of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold.

The Google device also comes with longer software support and the promise of continuous AI refreshes, Gemini Live (although it's a subscription service), and all the Google software magic you can get (being a Pixel device).

We recon most people will go for the Pixel, as Honor is still hard to get outside of select European countries, but if you can lay your hands on one and you don't mind the price tag, the Magic V3 will serve you well and awe your peers with every unfold.