Amateur Photographer verdict
It certainly used to be the case that to have a folding phone, one of the big compromises that needed to be made was to accept a lesser-quality camera.
However, we’ve been impressed by the last couple of generations of folding Honor Magic phones, so with the latest iteration taking the form of the Honor Magic V6, it’s time to find out what’s new and whether it can trouble any of the models on our list of the best smartphones for photographers.
As with all folding smartphones, the Honor Magic V6 does not keep cheap. The launch price of £1999 (it’s not available in the US) is pretty eye-watering, but there are some discounts currently around, as well as some free gifts that are included.
Honor Magic V6 at a glance
- 50MP, f/1.6, 23mm (wide) main camera with 1/1.56″ sensor, PDAF, OIS
- 50MP, f/2.2, mm (ultrawide) camera
- 64MP, f/2.5, 70mm (telephoto) camera with 1/2.0″sensor, PDAF, OIS
- 20MP, f/2.2, 13mm (front) camera with AF
- Video: 4K60p
- 7.95-inch inner, 6.52-inch outer screen, 120Hz screen, 5000/6000nits (peak)
- 8.75mm folded, 4mm open
- MagicOS 10
- 6600mAh battery, W fast charging
- Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
- IP68&69 dust and water resistance
- Weight: 219g (white)
- Price: £1,499 (16+512GB)
How I test phones
I review smartphones from the perspective of choosing one for its photography and camera performance. For the Honor Magic V6, I look at what it offers in terms of picture and video capability. Other specifications such as the screen and battery life are also taken into consideration, but I won’t comment on things such as gaming or call-quality.
Honor Magic V6 – Features
Perhaps slightly disappointingly, the triple camera unit on the back appears to be largely the same as that found on the V5. That’s not terrible news as that was a great performer, though, so it makes sense not to vary that too much. You also get two selfie cameras, being a folding display, one you can use when the phone is folded, and another you can use when it’s unfolded.
To break that down further that means you get a 50MP 1x camera (23mm f/1.6 equivalent), plus a 64MP (70mm f/2.5) periscope telephoto and a 50MP (13mm f/2.2) ultrawide lens. Having three good quality lenses, including a zoom lens on a foldable is still a rarity so that’s great to see.
Of course it’s that big inner display that’s the real hero spec here, giving you 7.95-inches of real estate to play with. We decreed this to be like having a pocket editing suite in our story about the launch of the phone, and I’d say that’s pretty fair – if you want to look at, edit and really immerse yourself in your photos and videos, a folding phone is a great way to do that.
The only difference between the old version and the new version is that the outer screen is now slightly larger, at 6.52-inches, compared with 6.42-inches before.
Elsewhere, tweaks have been made to the processor, battery and water/dust-proofing. The V6 has the latest generation Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, which in theory should make it faster in operation (how much you’d notice is debatable). There’s a larger battery, now at 6600 mAh (compared with 5820mAh before), and charging speeds for both wired and wireless charging have been boosted.
The V6 is the first foldable to achieve IP69 waterproofing. That’s quite striking for something with the obvious weakened mechanics of a folding system. IP69 means not only is it fully waterproof but you can also fire hot water jets at it – something I’m sure we all do for a laugh with our phones from time to time.
Honor Magic V6 – Handling and Design
The thinness of these devices is what makes them stand out. To hold the phone when it’s folded, you’d be forgiven for barely even realising it is indeed a folding device. In a way, the interior screen feels like a hidden secret, ready to pop out only when you need it.
As it is, the front screen is excellent in itself. At 6000 nits max brightness and 120Hz refresh rate, this OLED is up there with the screens found on regular “candy bar” phones, and shouldn’t be thought of as second-rate to the interior screen.
Opening up to reveal the interior screen and you’ll find a 7.95-inch display, which is also pretty bright at 5000 nits and also has a fast refresh rate. The only downside here is the visible crease in the middle of the screen – still an inevitably with folding phones. It’s not terrible by any means, but you can still see it, especially from certain angles. It doesn’t bother me particularly, but some might feel differently. The “Super Strong” hinge itself has a satisfying amount of stiffness to it (calm down), making it feel sturdy but not too much of a burden to open quickly when you want to get to it.
On the whole, the Magic V6 has a fairly minimalist vibe to it. There’s a simple round camera bump for the trio of lenses, while there’s not too much adorning it elsewhere. There’s a couple of buttons on the sides for volume and power, the former of which can also be used for triggering the shutter when in the native camera app.
I’ve been using the Gold colour way of the phone, which is pretty sleek and stylish. There’s also fairly ordinary looking White and Black variants, with probably the Red being the most striking – albeit not to everybody’s tastes.
Honor Magic V6 – Native camera app
As with most other Android models, there’s lots of shooting modes found within the native camera app for the Honor Magic V6. You can access the camera app regardless of whether you’re using the inner or outer screen. Using it when unfolded is a little bit unwieldy for my liking, but it’s great for looking back at your shots once you’ve taken them.
By default, it will open in Photo mode where you can access all three of the lenses, along with digital zooming all the way up to 100x. Other settings available here include changing digital filters – including some which create classic film stock looks – as well as adjusting Exposure, switching on/off HDR, capturing “moving photos” and adjusting ratio.
If you bring the camera close to a subject, it’ll switch to the ultrawide lens for macro mode. Similarly, if you shoot in low light, the default is for night shooting to activate (though you can switch this off if you prefer and activate it manually instead if you wish).
There are some other shooting modes you can also explore, such as Portrait mode for shallow depth of field effects with your people shots, where you can also use some different film-style effects, as well as adjust the strength of the bokeh, and add/remove beauty filters.
A Pro mode can be used to adjust shooting settings, such as shutter speed, ISO and white balance manually – you can also shoot raw in this mode (note that you can’t shoot in raw in any other mode). Other modes slightly hidden away under a “More” tab include Time-Lapse, Panorama and Super Macro. You’ll also find a High-Res mode if you want to take advantage of the full resolution of the sensor.
Honor Magic V6 – Image quality and performance
Where previous folding phones have been a bit of a let-down in the photo department, models like the Honor Magic V6 show that there doesn’t necessarily have to be a compromise.
Photos from it are great, with vibrant colours and plenty of detail. It’s also true to say though that with cameras seemingly identical to the previous model, there isn’t any improvement as such to write about here.
Still, if it’s your first time looking into a foldable, it makes sense to go for the newest and the photos here shouldn’t let you down.
The best result comes from the 1x lens, as we’d expect, but the ultrawide also puts in a strong performance, and the telephoto lens also delivers some good results too. The digital zoom options are also pretty good, with the 10x digital zoom being very usable. As usual, the 100x zoom is nothing more than a marketing gimmick, but lengths in between can be useful, such as 30x if you really do need to get closer to the action.
For close-up, the ultrawide does a decent job. It’s not the best performing phone for macro – I think the ones that use a telephoto lens for close-ups, such as the Xiaomi 17 Ultra are better – but for general pictures, or if you don’t intend to do many close-ups it’s fine enough.
Low light shooting reveals a reasonable amount of detail shown when using the 1x lens. The ultrawide is very much on the smudgy side, while you’ll find if you attempt to use the telephoto in very dark conditions you’ll end up with a crop of the 1x lens. Again, it’s not the best performer for low light, but if that’s not something you do all the time it likely won’t trouble you too much.
Portraits are nicely rendered by the portrait mode, with a fairly natural drop off to the background behind. Experimenting with the different portrait effects and film modes yields some fun results and are worth trying out.
The selfie camera also produces some nice results too, with a fair amount of detail shown.
Honor Magic V6 – Value for money
There’s really no getting around the fact that the Honor Magic V6 is a very expensive piece of kit. Just a dot under £2000 for a phone is a heck of a lot of money.
But, if you want to think like this, you could consider that you’re getting a phone and a tablet in one, then perhaps the price becomes more bearable.
It’s also just a fact that folding phones are expensive. There’s a lot of tech in here, so of course it is. You really have to want one, rather than just getting one just because you need a phone and any will do.
The Honor Magic V6 is broadly in line with its competitors. The Samsung Galaxy Fold7 and the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold are roughly the same price for the equivalent memory here.
You could argue that with three high-resolution cameras for the Magic V6, then its better value for money than its competitors, too.
In short, you’re not going to be buying one of these phones on a whim, but if you’re really keen on a foldable, it does offer some degree of value – especially if you can pick it up during the promotional period and get some freebies thrown in.
It’s worth remembering however that this is a model which is not available in every market, such as the US.
Honor Magic V6 – Verdict
As we’re seeing a lot of in 2026, the Honor Magic V6 is more of a tweak than a full-blown upgrade.
In terms of the cameras, really very little has changed. That’s not necessarily a bad thing as they were already pretty good to begin with.
Overall the performance here is very good, but if things like low light and macro are your big thing, then there are others which are better – not in the folding genre mind you, so if that’s what you want as well, then you’ll be out of luck.
Where there have been some improvements is to battery life, processor and waterproofing. These are all nice upgrades to have, and although I probably wouldn’t advocate anyone who has the previous model splashing out on a new one already, for those new to foldables it makes the overall proposition much more tempting.
If you want a folding phone and want one that produces very good results (albeit not perfect) then the Honor Magic V6 is still the model I’d recommend to most – notwithstanding those for whom it’s not available to buy (sorry Americans).
Honor Magic V6 – Full Specifications
| Main cameras | 50MP, f/1.6, 23mm (wide) main camera with 1/1.56″ sensor, PDAF, OIS 50MP, f/2.2, mm (ultrawide) camera 64MP, f/2.5, 70mm (telephoto) camera with 1/2.0″sensor, PDAF, OIS |
| Selfie camera | 20MP, f/2.2, 13mm (front) camera with AF |
| Video | 4K60p |
| Screen | Inner screen: HONOR Super Armored, 7.95-inch OLED, 5000nits External screen: HONOR Anti-scratch NanoCrystal Shield, 6.52-inch OLED, 6000 nits |
| Battery | 6660 mAh, 80W fast charge, 66W wireless charge |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 |
| RAM/storage | 16GB+512GB |
| OS/Updates | MagicOS 10 (based on Android 16) |
| Protection | IP68&IP69 |
| Dimensions, weight | Height: 156.7 mm Width folded: 74.5 mm, unfolded: 145.6 mm Depth folded: 8.75 mm, unfolded: 4.0 mm (white version) Weight: 219g (white version) |
Related reading:
- Honor 600 Pro review – is the improved processor and new design worth the upgrade?
- Honor Magic 8 Pro Review – Is the Magic back? I test it and find out
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 Review – A folding phone that’s finally good enough for photographers
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