Honor Magic V3 Foldable Phone Leads Laptop And Tablet Launch Where Slim Is Everything

Honor has kicked off IFA 2024 by unveiling three new flagship devices, not the least of which is its sleek new foldable phone, the Honor Magic V3. This inward-folding handset is joined by two other notable arrivals: the Honor MagicPad 2 tablet and the Honor MagicBook Art 14 laptop. At the heart of this new lineup is artificial intelligence, with Honor CEO George Zhao explaining that "AI is fundamentally reshaping our industry, enriching and creating new experiences that improve creativity and productivity for consumers all around the world, every day."

Among other things, the company has tapped Google Cloud for a mix of cloud tech and AI models; for consumers, that means access to a number of AI-powered features, including several tablet-centric tools targeted at office workers and some convenience features baked into the new foldable smartphone. Though price and availability details are pending at the time of writing, Honor has fully detailed what consumers can expect from these three new models — and there's a lot to be excited about.

The Honor Magic V3 foldable phone features a large 7.92-inch internal display, as well as a slightly smaller 6.42-inch external screen. The handset has an inward-folding hinge akin to the one found on the Magic V2 Porsche Design Edition we reviewed earlier this year; it can handle up to half a million folding cycles, according to the company. The question of foldable durability remains as prominent as ever among consumers, and Honor appears to have anticipated this, stating that its new flagship has an SGS Durability Certification — plus there's NanoCrystal Shield helping protect the device from scratches and Super Armored protection for the inner display. Overall, Honor explains that it designed this foldable to withstand "the rigors of daily use."

Durable construction aside, the Magic V3 likewise features a 7.9-ounce (226-gram) weight and a 9.2 mm folded profile thickness (not including the octagonal camera bump), making this the "world's thinnest foldable," at least according to Honor. The aforementioned camera bump is home to a 50 MP main camera joined by a 50 MP telephoto camera and a 40 MP ultra-wide module. The battery clocks in with a 5,150 mAh capacity — consumers get access to Honor's 50 W wireless charging ("SuperCharge") and 66 W wired charging.

What about the new AI-powered features? Top among them is what Honor says is a world-first — its AI Defocus Display tech. That's joined by photography features powered by artificial intelligence, including a portrait enhancement engine, motion sensing feature, translation tools, and the maker's own AI Eraser. Get ready to pay a pretty penny to won this device, as Honor says that it will €1,999, which works out to around $2,214.

Joining Honor's newly-unveiled foldable flagship phone and tablet is the MagicBook Art 14, a model that aims to deliver an ultraslim design without sacrificing durability — it has a thickness of 10 mm and is lightweight at around 2.2 lbs. As far as the durability aspect goes, Honor says it used a mix of titanium and a magnesium alloy for the construction.

Focusing on the hardware, the MagicBook Art 14 brings multiple impressive specs to the table, including a 14.6-inch 3.1K display with a 97% screen-to-body ratio. The unit is powered by an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor 155H offering up to 4.8 GHz power. The jacks are as expected — there's HDMI, Thunderbolt 4, USB-C, and USB-A — but they're joined by an increasing rarity: a 3.5 mm audio jack. Though precise battery specs are unclear at the time of writing, Honor promises a long runtime via the 60 Whr battery.

That leads to the AI side of things — Honor says its new MagicBook model features OS Turbo 3.0, which leverages artificial intelligence to optimize power consumption based on usage habits. Consumers will likewise benefit from the AI element when using the machine's bidirectional microphone setup, plus there are Copilot AI features centered around PC productivity tasks, such as managing one's email inbox in an intelligent manner.

Though tablets have never enjoyed the same level of popularity as their smartphone counterparts, they're arguably a vital part of a productivity loadout, serving as a highly portable alternative to laptops and a larger, more convenient substitute for a smartphone. It's no surprise that Honor introduced a flagship tablet as part of its IFA 2024 wares. The anticipated MagicPad 2 sports a 12.3-inch 144 Hz display, which the company has paired with features designed to reduce strain on your eyes — there's a circadian night display feature, as well as dynamic dimming and AI Defocus Display tech, among other things.

Though it's nice to have a tablet around for getting work done while away from the desk, Honor appears to be well-aware of the fact that for many consumers, tablets are primarily entertainment consumption devices. Evidence of that is the inclusion of its own Spatial Audio Technology that boosts the sound field by 25% compared to the previous model, plus the model packs DTS tech and an IMAX-Enhanced certification.

The model is powered by a Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 alongside a 10,050 mAh battery — the latter supports 66 W fast charging. As expected, the MagicPad 2 runs MagicOS 8.0, itself packing AI-powered features not unlike some that you'll find on the latest iPads — there's one that makes your handwriting look better, for example, and another that'll turn your spoken words into text. Consumers will also have access to optional accessories like a keyboard and stylus, with Honor saying that the MagicPad 2 will cost €599 ($663).