Honor Magic V3 vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: Surprising results!
Intro
Just a couple of days prior to the official unveiling of the Honor Magic V3, the Chinese company launched a bold PR campaign, apologizing to Samsung fans who bought the Galaxy Z Fold 6. We won't get into details, you should read the full story, but in short, Honor said something along the lines of "our phones is better."
So, here we are, trying to find out if that claim holds. The full Honor Magic V3 review is out, so you should check that one for a deep dive, and even though it's the thinnest foldable on the market, and a very impressive device, can it be a match for a mainstream foldable champion such as the Galaxy Z Fold 6?
Pricewise, these two are pretty close, but it's worth mentioning that the Honor Magic V3 comes in just one storage configuration, and it's 12/512GB for 1,699 British Pounds Sterling, while the equivalent memory option for the Galaxy Z Fold 6 costs 1,899. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, this is our detailed Honor Magic V3 vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 comparison.
Pricewise, these two are pretty close, but it's worth mentioning that the Honor Magic V3 comes in just one storage configuration, and it's 12/512GB for 1,699 British Pounds Sterling, while the equivalent memory option for the Galaxy Z Fold 6 costs 1,899. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, this is our detailed Honor Magic V3 vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 comparison.
Honor Magic V3 vs Galaxy Z Fold 6 differences explained:
| Honor Magic V3 | Galaxy Z Fold 6 |
|---|---|
| Thinner and lighter but a bit larger | A more compact phone, albeit thicker and heavier |
| Larger 7.9-inch inner display, slightly larger cover screen as well at 6.4 inches | A smaller 7.6-inch main screen, and also smaller 6.3-inch cover screen |
| Triple camera, including a periscope telephoto | Triple camera as well, but no periscope zoom system |
| More storage in the base (and only one) version 12/512GB | Less storage starting at 12/256GB |
| Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, slightly overclocked |
| Larger 5,150mAh battery that will potentially deliver better battery life. Silicon-carbon technology | A smaller 4,400mAh battery |
| 66W wired fast charging, 50W wireless charging, reverse wirеless charging | Slower wired and wireless charging |
Table of Contents:
Also read:
- Honor Magic V3 Review: Thin as a pancake!
- Honor Magic V3 vs Honor Magic V2: Evolution done right
Design and Display Quality
All foldables on a diet
For the past couple of years, companies have been trying to make the thinnest foldable out there, in order for it to feel like a normal phone when folded. The Honor Magic V3 is the pinnacle in that regard, with a thickness of just 4.35 mm unfolded, and a little over 9 mm folded. It really feels like a normal bar phone.
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 also improves on its predecessor, but it's still quite thick at 12.1 mm folded, and it's also very boxy with sharp edges and flat sides. While this design might appeal to some, it feels bigger than it actually is in the hand.
The Honor Magic V3 also uses some exotic fiber materials to keep the weight down while maintaining sturdiness, the phone weighs 226 grams (an iPhone 15 Pro Max comes at 221 grams). The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is a little heavier, albeit narrower and shorter than the V3.
The Honor Magic V3 also uses some exotic fiber materials to keep the weight down while maintaining sturdiness, the phone weighs 226 grams (an iPhone 15 Pro Max comes at 221 grams). The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is a little heavier, albeit narrower and shorter than the V3.
Both phones come with an IP rating for water resistance, the Z Fold 6 sports IP48, while the Honor Magic V3 comes with an IPX8 rating. The "4" in the Z Fold 6 case offers a bit more dust resistance, and it is protected against 1mm-sized foreign objects and larger.
Overall, the Honor Magic V3 feels better in the hand and much more like a normal phone when folded, so we prefer the Magic V3 when it comes to ergonomics.
When it comes to displays, the Honor Magic V3 sports a different form factor and a larger inner display at 7.92 inches, while the Galaxy Z Fold 6 comes with a 7.6-inch inner screen. The resolution is a tad better on the Magic V3 as well, resulting in 402 pixels per inch, while the Galaxy Z Fold 6 manages 374 pixels per inch.
In reality, both screens look very good, sharp, detailed, and bright, and even though the Galaxy has an advantage in pure nits count, both are good under direct sunlight. The refresh rate on both is 1-120Hz dynamic, and it's the same on the cover screens as well.
In reality, both screens look very good, sharp, detailed, and bright, and even though the Galaxy has an advantage in pure nits count, both are good under direct sunlight. The refresh rate on both is 1-120Hz dynamic, and it's the same on the cover screens as well.
Display Measurements:
Our lab tests show a slight advantage for the Samsung foldable with a brighter inner screen that can also go dimmer to just 1 nit. Color temperature is very similar, and the color reproduction is better on the Magic V3. Overall, we would say it's a tie in this category, but the Honor gets bonus points for more screen estate both on its inner and cover screen.
Performance and Software
Snapdragons are not created equal
Both of these phones feature Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipsets, although the Samsung contender has a little "for Galaxy" stamp next to the silicon. It's the latest and greatest Qualcomm has to offer, and being flagship foldables, we didn't expect anything less.
The RAM situation is identical, both the Z Fold 6 and the Magic V3 come with 12GB of LPDDR5x RAM onboard. When it comes to storage, the Magic V3 has an advantage with its 512GB option (it's the only flavor the phone is available in), and it also comes cheaper than the 256GB Galaxy Z Fold 6, at least in the UK.
The RAM situation is identical, both the Z Fold 6 and the Magic V3 come with 12GB of LPDDR5x RAM onboard. When it comes to storage, the Magic V3 has an advantage with its 512GB option (it's the only flavor the phone is available in), and it also comes cheaper than the 256GB Galaxy Z Fold 6, at least in the UK.
Unsurprisingly, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 was able to pull ahead in our synthetic benchmarks, but not by much. We can attribute the difference to the thinner size of the Magic V3, with some thermal throttling possibly going on there, and also the slightly tuned Snapdragon inside the Z Fold 6.
But overall, in day-to-day tasks, both phones perform flawlessly and as smooth as butter, as one might expect. We give a slight edge to the Galaxy in this category.
The software situation is a complex one at the moment. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 uses OneUI over Android 14, and the Honor Magic V3 comes with MagicOS over the same base Android version. Both have their quirks, the Galaxy comes with Galaxy AI, while Honor has something similar and also a brewing Google partnership, so it's down to personal preference. Using these, the experience is more similar than different, they both offer split screen modes, they have stylus support, and you can easily multitask on the large screens.
The software situation is a complex one at the moment. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 uses OneUI over Android 14, and the Honor Magic V3 comes with MagicOS over the same base Android version. Both have their quirks, the Galaxy comes with Galaxy AI, while Honor has something similar and also a brewing Google partnership, so it's down to personal preference. Using these, the experience is more similar than different, they both offer split screen modes, they have stylus support, and you can easily multitask on the large screens.
Camera
A yellow submarine (with a periscope)
These two phones feature conceptually similar camera systems, with wide, ultrawide, and telephoto cameras on their backs. The big difference here is the telephoto camera, which is of the periscope variety on the Honor Magic V3, and a more conventional one inside the Z Fold 6. The former comes with 3.5x optical zoom, while the later sports 3x optical.
Megapixels, numbers, and other mechanical and constructional differences are somewhat irrelevant, and in the end all boils down to the end result. So, let's compare some samples side-by-side and see which of these phones takes better photos.
Megapixels, numbers, and other mechanical and constructional differences are somewhat irrelevant, and in the end all boils down to the end result. So, let's compare some samples side-by-side and see which of these phones takes better photos.
Main Camera
The samples from the main camera look surprisingly similar in regard to resolved details, dynamic range, and exposure. There's a huge difference in color tone, the Honor Magic V3 produces much warmer photos, but overall the quality is similar. It's down to personal preference which one you like more, the cooler tones of the Galaxy or the warmer yellow-ish hues of the Magic V3.
The low light situation exposes some additional differences. The sample from the Galaxy Z Fold 6 looks brighter but also softer, and there's a loss of contrast and detail here and there. The Magic V3, on the other hand, managed to produce an image with slightly better dynamic range, although some might find it too sharp. The warm tones are again present in the Magic V3 sample, while here the Galaxy looks much more neutral when it comes to white balance.
Zoom Quality
The 3.5x periscope zoom camera system inside the Magic V3 pulls the Chinese phone ahead in this specific comparison. The image is not only subjectively closer, but it's much more detailed, and the dynamic range is better. The background also looks better in the Magic V3 sample, while the Galaxy has smeared the details of the trees and the silos in the background.
Ultra-wide Camera
The ultrawide images look similar, but there's again a slight advantage when it comes to details and dynamic range, and this advantage goes to the Magic V3. This may be down to the higher pixel count of the different sensor, but the Magic V3 resolves more details (take a look at the letters in "Masala" and how the first two letters are resolved better on the Magic V3 sample). Overall, the difference isn't huge, and again, the colors are much warmer in the Magic V3 sample, so it's again down to personal preference.
Selfies
Now, the selfie camera of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 was able to capture more details and produce a sharper image, but there's some aggressive oversharpening going on in the sample. On the other hand, looking at the skies in the background, the Galaxy phone overexposed the shot a bit. The Magic V3 sample looks much softer in comparison, due to the said oversharpening in the other image, but the clouds in the sky are resolved with much better detail.
Video Quality
Here's a quick video comparison between the Honor Magic V3 and the Galaxy Z Fold 6. All the differences we talked about in the image samples apply here as well, but there's much more noise in the low-light ultrawide sample of the Magic V3 in comparison to the Z Fold 6. On the other hand, most of the time there seem to be a tad more details in the Magic V3 sample. What do you think? Which one do you like better?
Battery Life and Charging
More is… more!
The Honor Magic V3 comes with the third generation of Honor's silicon-carbon battery technology onboard. This is the main reason the company was able to cram a 5,150mAh cell in this thin body. The Galaxy Z Fold 6, on the other hand, features a more modest 4,400mAh battery, and this inevitably translates into shorter battery life. At least in most instances. Let's take a look at the benchmarks.
Unsurprisingly, the Honor Magic V3 was able to come on top of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 in our browsing and video streaming tests, and also by a substantial margin. The gaming test saw the Z Fold 6 win with about an hour and a half advantage, so if you plan to play games on your foldable, take this into account.
When it comes to charging, things are crystal clear. The Honor Magic V3 supports 66W of wired power transferred to the battery, and also 50W wirelessly (although, you will need the proprietary Honor charger to take full advantage). The Galaxy Z Fold 6 comes with 25W wired and 15W wireless charging support, and it shows in the charging benchmarks above. The Honor Magic V3 wins this round.
Audio Quality and Haptics
There's nothing special to boast about in this section. Both phones come with stereo systems, and neither of these will blow your mind. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is a tad louder and more defined, probably due to more space in the chassis to fit slightly larger loudspeakers. The Honor Magic V3 also houses both speakers inside the left wing of the phone, so when you unfold it, you get all the sound from the left side.
Again, neither of these is amazing at haptics feedback. They get the job done, but vibration is not as strong and precise as we would've liked. Overall, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is probably slightly better in this category, but not by much.
Specs Comparison
Here's a quick specs comparison between these two. If you want a deep dive into numbers and specs, you should check out our detailed Honor Magic V3 vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 specs comparison on PhoneArena.
| Specs | Honor Magic V3 | Galaxy Z Fold 6 |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | Folded: 156.6×74.0×9.2 mm Unfolded: 156.6×145.3×4.35 mm | Unfolded: 153.5 x 132.6 x 5.6 mm Folded: 153.5 x 68.1 x 12.1 mm |
| Weight | 226 g | 239 g |
| Screen | Main: 7.92-inch OLED, 120Hz LTPO, 1600 nits, 2344×2156 (402PPI) Cover: 6.43-inch OLED, 120Hz LTPO, 5000 nits, 2376×1060 (402PPI) | 7.6-inch main 6.3-inch cover OLED 1-120Hz |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy |
| RAM, Storage and Price | 12/512GB for 1,699 British Pounds | 12/256GB for $1,899 |
| Cameras | 50MP wide 40MP ultrawide 50MP telephoto, 3.5x zoom 20MP cover screen selfie 20MP inner screen selfie | 50MP main, f/1.8 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.2 10MP 3X zoom, f/2.4 4MP front (under display) 10MP front cover screen |
| Battery Size | 5,150 mAh | 4,400 mAh |
| Charging Speeds | 66W wired 50W wireless Reverse wireless charging | 25W wired 15W wireless Reverse wireless charging |
Which one should you buy?
Which one should you buy, then? Well, everything points toward the Honor Magic V3. It's arguably the better device. It's thinner, lighter, comes with a larger battery and faster charging, has a bigger screen, and performs at least on par with the Galaxy Z Fold 6 in every other category.
Things look even more clear if we take a look at the price. At the moment of writing, the Honor Magic V3 costs 1,699 pounds in the UK, while the equivalent Galaxy Z Fold 6 with 512GB of storage starts at 1,899 pounds.
In reality, it's anyone's guess how the Magic V3 will sell in Europe, and whether or not it will be able to challenge the Galaxy Z Fold 6. But if you're into foldables, and you're looking for the latest and greatest on the market, you shouldn't shy away from the Honor Magic V3.
Things look even more clear if we take a look at the price. At the moment of writing, the Honor Magic V3 costs 1,699 pounds in the UK, while the equivalent Galaxy Z Fold 6 with 512GB of storage starts at 1,899 pounds.
In reality, it's anyone's guess how the Magic V3 will sell in Europe, and whether or not it will be able to challenge the Galaxy Z Fold 6. But if you're into foldables, and you're looking for the latest and greatest on the market, you shouldn't shy away from the Honor Magic V3.
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