Samsung's biggest Fold 7 rival starts to roll out globally

The world of foldable phones has always been an exciting place, but it looks like it could get even more tantalising this year. The recent launch of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 marked a significant turning point for one of the biggest brands in the space, with a much more modern design.

It's not the only device worth keeping an eye on, though. The Honor Magic V5 is also shaping up to be a killer handset – and it's slowly creeping towards a global release.

As reported by GSMarena, the model launched in Malaysia overnight, and is expected to do something similar in Singapore this week. That's the first time it has come to market outside of China, and shows that the model is slowly edging towards a wider global release.

The Malaysian launch also offered a pretty sweet gift included in the form of a Harman Kardon Onyx Studio 9 speaker. That's a seriously neat addition, and was offered alongside added protection plans and an instant rebate, according to the report.

I'm really excited for the launch of the Honor Magic V5. I used the previous generation Honor Magic V3 – the V4 moniker has been skipped over due to connotations with the number in the Chinese tongue – for a full year, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

The next-gen model sounds like a solid upgrade over that handset, with an incredibly slim 8.8mm thin frame, a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, a seriously impressive camera array and an improved water and dust resistance rating.

More than any of that, though, I'm excited to test out the improvements to the hinge. That was where my Magic V3 model ultimately failed, and those improvements could stand to make the device a total knockout.

Will it be better than Samsung's offering? Well, I guess we'll have to get them side-by-side and see. But one thing is certain – having two competitors of this calibre means the fight will be one for the ages.