Move over Samsung – another thin foldable phone is coming soon

Samsung has been aggressively teasing the launch of the Galaxy Z Fold 7, talking about bringing the "ultra" experience to its folding phone, while also confirming that it's going to be the thinnest foldable it has released so far.

However, there could be another brand that pips Samsung to the post, with a thinner device vying to be the best folding phone ever.

Samsung's new phone is said to be 3.9mm thick when unfolded and 8.9mm when closed – so only just thicker than a typical phone. That's thinner than the current record holder, the Oppo Find N5, which is 4.21mm thick when open.

Honor has now joined the fray, promising another new folding phone, the Honor Magic V5. The launch was confirmed at MWC Shanghai, with the date for the official unveiling set for 2 July. That might mean that Honor gets its phone out faster than Samsung, who is still to confirm a launch window for its device.

The Honor Magic V3 was 9.3mm thick when folded, or 4.35mm when unfolded. When we reviewed the phone in 2024 we found it stacked with advantages, including great cameras and battery life, as well as the slim and light design.

Building on the Magic V3 is an exciting proposition, with the teaser image showing a really slim device from the side. It's folded, with the power button and volume rocker visible and the camera bump on the rear. At the announcement, James Li, Honor CEO, said that it would be the world's thinnest and lightest folding phone, according to Fone Arena.

According to Digital Chat Station on Weibo, the Magic V5 will be just 8.93mm thick when folded and weigh less than 219g.

What to expect from the Honor Magic V5

The Honor Magic V5 is expected to be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite (although it's not clear is that's the 7-core or 8-core version). It's said that there will be a 6,100mAh battery, which will use silicon-carbon tech, with 66W wired charging.

The folding screen is said to be 7.95-inches, while it's expected to have a 50-megapixel main rear camera, perhaps supported by a 200-megapixel telephoto and an ultrawide.

Honor is also pushing the AI skills of the phone, while saying that it will be able to connect to all brands of devices, which might include closer interoperability with Apple following the announcement of iCloud integration from Vivo.

There's not long to wait, with the Honor Magic V5 confirmed to launch on 2 July. It's expected to launch globally.