Honor on Wednesday touted its new thin and light foldable phone, the Magic V5, claiming superior thinness and battery capacity in a new challenge to market leader Samsung.
The Honor Magic V5 will be available first in the Chinese market, but the Chinese tech company may bring the device to international markets later this year.
Honor, which was spun off from Chinese tech giant Huawei in 2020, hopes to stand out from its competitors with key features of the Magic V5, such as artificial intelligence, battery life and size.
Honor said the Magic V5 will be 8.8mm to 9mm thick when folded, depending on the color choice. The phone's predecessor, the Magic V3 (Honor dropped the Magic V4 name), was 9.2mm thick when folded. Honor said the Magic V5 will weigh 217g to 222g, also depending on the color model. The previous version weighed 226g.
In China, Honor will launch a 1TB version of the Magic V5 and said its battery capacity will be more than 6,000mAh, the highest capacity among foldable screen phones.
As competition intensifies in the foldable phone market, Honor has been working hard to promote these features, even though such devices have a very small share of the overall smartphone market.
Honor vs Samsung
According to data from the International Data Corporation (IDC), by 2024, foldable phones will account for less than 2% of the overall smartphone market. IDC added that Samsung ranks first with a 34% market share, followed by Huawei with a share of just under 24%. Honor ranks fourth with a share of nearly 11%.
Honor hopes to seize the opportunity, as Samsung will release its foldable phone next week on July 9.
Francisco Geronimo, vice president of IDC, said the Magic V5 is a strong product from Honor.
"This is a dream product that any user interested in foldable phones will think of," Geronimo pointed out, citing features such as battery.
"This phone continues to break the standards and will challenge Samsung as it is about to launch its seventh generation foldable phone," he added.
How thin or light a foldable phone can be has become a battleground for smartphone makers, who want consumers to enjoy a large screen without adding weight to the phone.
Samsung is expected to launch a foldable phone at an event next week that is thinner than the previous generation and could be comparable in size to Honor's offering, analysts said. If that happens, Honor will face tougher competition, especially from Samsung, which has a stronger global business.
"Honor's biggest challenge is brand value and distribution coverage versus Samsung, where the Korean manufacturer has an advantage," said Neil Shah, co-founder of Counterpoint Research.
Honor's push into international markets outside of China is still in its infancy, and the company is working to build its brand.
"In addition, Samsung has been a true pioneer in the foldable phone space with its vertical integration expertise from display to battery, and Honor's differentiation advantage could shrink if Samsung launches thinner phones in its next iterations," Shah added.
Vertical integration refers to a company owning multiple links in a product's supply chain. Samsung has display and battery businesses that provide components for its foldable phones.
Honor talks AI
Smartphone makers including Honor are also looking to stand out with AI features on their devices.
In March, Honor pledged to invest $10 billion in AI over the next five years, part of which will go toward developing the next generation of smart assistants that are seen as more advanced personal assistants.
Honor said its AI assistant Yoyo can interact with other AI models, such as those created by DeepSeek and Alibaba in China, to create presentations.
The company also said its AI agent can call a taxi on multiple apps in China, automatically accept the fastest one and cancel the rest.