What would happen if you ordered a brand new, top of the line,
world's slimmest and lightest smartphone and it arrived like this...do it yourself style.
Well I don't have the privilege of wondering since today's new smartphone did arrive from
our sponsor, Honor, just like this. And instead of an unboxing we have an assembling, like a nerdy
Avengers. All these parts need to come together to create the world's thinnest folding phone. Quite
a bit thinner and lighter than even the newest Samsung Z Fold 5. The 5 looks all slim and sleek
until the V2 comes around...assuming, of course, we can put it together. While Samsung has been
busy not changing anything for the past few years, Honor's over here making the most low profile, non
obtrusive folding phone we've seen yet. And it's our job to put it together. Let's get started.
[Intro]
One of the coolest parts for me on this Honor Magic V2 is the titanium hinge. Honor makes
the Magic V2 to be the thinnest and lightest book style folding smartphone on the planet,
and it starts with a super light titanium alloy hinge that can withstand over 400,000
folding motions. For those counting at home, that's 100 times a day for 10 straight years.
Figuring out which side is up, down, left, and right on a folding phone where both
sides are front and both sides are back is rather difficult. But like with any puzzle,
the hinge is only going to fit in one spot...we just gotta find it. Titanium
by weight is lighter than aluminum and stronger than steel. It can reduce the hinge thickness
by 75%. It's cool seeing how the ribbon cables fit through the frame like a little butterfly.
There are 2 metal brackets that help hold the center ribbon in place. This actually needs to be
installed when the phone is in a closed position so the ribbon cable is at max flex. I assume the
7.9 inch, 120 hertz flexible screen goes on next. And lucky for me the adhesive is already
pre-installed. Flexible screens are surprisingly resilient as long as we don't touch the edges,
which is what the plastic bumper is for. And as long as we don't bend the screen
in more than one direction at a time. We'll get to the flexible screen a bit more later.
The batteries are probably next. Again, with such a thin phone the batteries need to be extra flat.
Each of these two batteries are just 2.7 millimeters thick, and since they are made
from an energy dense silicon carbon we still get 5,000 milliamp hours worth of juice while still
being the thinnest battery in any foldable so far. The battery sits right over top of
the vapor chamber which extends up under the motherboard. Honor is calling this a bionic
vapor chamber since it's designed to replicate the natural thickness of cicada wings and
has 12% more surface area and more cooling capabilities than the previous generation.
Since we're assembling this all willy-nilly without any instructions, I forgot to install
the extension ribbon that goes from the charging port board up to the motherboard that's supposed
to be underneath the battery. One step forward, two steps back. But now we're back on track.
The power button and fingerprint reader gets dropped in next. Thumbs up for that. It fits
right inside of the frame and gets locked in with a metal bracket and two screws. No
ingress protection at this opening but there is water resistance along some of the other speaker
holes which I'll show you more in a second. It looks like at some point this phone was
assembled previously with some thermal paste residue on the vapor chamber and a 16 megapixel
selfie camera still attached to the board with a Lego-style connector. With the main motherboard
set in place we can plug in our flexible screen ribbon, the extension ribbons that pass through
the titanium hinge, and of course the antenna and power button...just like a little Lego. I'll leave
the battery unplugged for now. The 66 watt fast charging USB-C port goes in next. This does have
a red rubber ring around the opening. We also have a modular SIM card tray. The Honor Magic V2 does
not have an official IP rating. And while there is water protection along some of the openings, it
also has water damage indicators, like this little white circle, that turns red if water ever enters.
The dot is visible from outside the phone as well when it's all sealed up. Not gonna lie, it's
rather strange assembling a phone that I didn't take apart first. It's like a high stakes version
of that puzzle ball for kids. Luckily all the circuit boards can only fit in one place inside
the milled out frame of the V2. So as long as we don't force anything in we should be just fine.
The secondary motherboard has yet another 16 megapixel selfie camera that points out
the front glass. And I assume now we use the remaining three Lego-style ribbon connectors
to connect both motherboards through that hinge. Before attaching the rest of the
cameras we can see that there is an upper stereo loudspeaker here with waterproofing
mesh over the speaker opening so there is some protection against water and dust.
The blue sticker you see is what's containing the little foam balls. They're what help the speaker
sound bigger than it actually is. Finally, the cameras. The 50 megapixel main camera,
which I hope is this one since it's the largest, does have optical image stabilization.
A 20 megapixel telephoto camera which does have OIS. And lastly, number 5, a 50 megapixel
ultrawide camera which does not have OIS. Things are really starting to come together. Speaking
of which, the redesigned antenna is also very interesting on this Magic V2. There's an antenna
board in the lower corner of the phone next to the lower loudspeaker. And as the antenna ribbon
moves up from that lower board, it stops along the edge of the frame at another antenna board, which
gets pressed into place, giving the V2 10% more antenna surface area than the original Magic VS.
The upper motherboard is also where we plug in the 6.4 inch front facing 120 hertz screen. I won't
stick it down just yet though. The rear plastics for the back of the folding phone are doing double
duty here as circuit board protection, as well as what's holding the camera modules in precise
positions so they can all work together, seamlessly changing from one lens to another
inside the camera app since they're all positioned and held securely pointing in the same direction.
With the phone mostly assembled, we can try plugging it in and look at that...signs of life.
The back plastics have pre-applied adhesive which is also most appreciated,
along with the front glass screen. And here we have the Honor Magic V2 – the world's newest,
thinnest, and lightest book style folding phone on the market.
Folding open a folding phone doesn't get old, and I'm incredibly tempted to try one out as a daily
driver. Comparing these two flagship folding phones side by side, there is a substantial
difference in thickness. With my calipers I have the Samsung Z Fold 5 clocking in at 13.5
millimeters thick. And if we check out the Honor Magic V2, we get a tad under 10 – 9.9 – more than
3 millimeters thinner. And thickness does matter when you're carrying around the equivalent of a
tablet that can fold. Weightwise we have the Z Fold 5 at 8.5 ounces and the Magic V2 at 8.3,
so it's also lighter. If we compare it to an iPhone 14 Pro Max, this is actually the 13
Pro Max, but don't act like you can tell the difference. It weighs in at the same 8.3 with
just a singular screen. I'm not sure how Honor managed to cram so many more displays, pixels,
and batteries into the same weight as an iPhone, but I guess you could say it's magic (ba-dum-tss).
I think it's cool that folding phones like the Magic V2 are pushing the limits
of what mobile technology is capable of and that's good news for everyone.
I'll leave a link down in the description if you want to grab one for yourself or check out current
pricing. And, you know, I did have a few screws loose on my desk here at the end. But, I mean,
who doesn't have a few loose screws? Thanks a ton for watching and I'll see you around.