Honor Magic V6 vs. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7: there is a clear winner, but ...

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 and the new Honor Magic V6 are two foldables at a very high level. On paper, the Magic V6 is clearly ahead, but in everyday use it isn’t that simple. I used both extensively, and in the end there is a twist.

Design and dimensions

	Galaxy Z Fold 7	Honor Magic V6
Thickness folded	8.9 mm	8.8 mm
Thickness unfolded	4.2 mm	4.0 mm
Weight	215 g	219 or 224 g, depending on color

You don’t notice the differences in everyday use. Until last year, Honor had the wow effect on its side when it came to form factor and weight. With the Z Fold 7, though, Samsung caught up in one leap. These thin, light dimensions are now the standard. On both, the outer display can finally be used like a normal smartphone. The colors from Honor are an eye-catcher as always, especially the gold. The Z Fold 7 looks more distinctive and timelessly modern.

Stylus: Samsung paid for it

The Z Fold 7 no longer supports an S Pen, as the necessary display layer was optimized away. As a handwritten-notes nerd, I really regret that. It is the only reason I additionally bought the Galaxy Tab S11. The Magic V6 brings Magic Pen support on both displays, inside and outside. If you need notes, sketches and markups, you won’t find that at Samsung.

Battery: no competition

	Galaxy Z Fold 7	Honor Magic V6
Battery	4,400 mAh	6,660 mAh
Wired charging	25 watts	80 watts
Wireless	15 watts	66 watts
Reverse wireless charging	4.5 watts	not stated

That is over 50% more capacity in a device that is 4 mm thin when unfolded. It is made possible by a silicon-carbon cell, which is more energy-dense than the lithium-ion batteries in the Z Fold 7. That’s why the weight difference is only 4 to 9 g. My Z Fold 7 has to be plugged in every evening. With the V6 I get more than two days and a screen-on time of around 9 to 11 hours. You can hardly drain the battery.

Displays

	Galaxy Z Fold 7	Honor Magic V6
Inner	8 inches, 368 PPI, 2,600 nits	7.95 inches, 403 PPI, up to 5,000 nits
Outer	2,600 nits	6.52 inches, up to 6,000 nits

The size difference on the inside is minimal. The V6’s display looks brighter, sharper and higher in contrast, though. Outside in sunlight, you clearly notice the difference on the outer display.

When it comes to the crease, the two go their own ways. On the Z Fold 7, Samsung has a new Armor Flex hinge with a water-drop design. I didn’t see a big leap compared to the Z Fold 6. Honor talks about 44% less crease compared to the V5 and calls the display “Near Zero Crease”. I agree: Looking closely, the crease is more subtle than on the Fold 7. For me it’s not a game changer, because the crease never bothered me.

The Magic V6 is the first foldable with IP69 certification. But the website lists many restrictions, for example that the protection can decrease with time in use. I wouldn’t shower or dive with it.

Camera

	Galaxy Z Fold 7	Honor Magic V6
Main camera	200 megapixels	50 megapixels
Ultrawide	12 megapixels	50 megapixels with autofocus
Telephoto	10 megapixels, 3x optical	64-megapixel periscope, 3x
Selfie	10 megapixels	2 x 20 megapixels, outside and inside

The V6 takes really strong shots. I was happy with the Z Fold 7, but since I’ve been using the V6, I only find its camera bad. The V6’s telephoto sensor is much bigger than Samsung’s 10-megapixel telephoto. Comparison shots can be seen in the video.

Performance and AI

In 2026, the V6 has the newer, much stronger Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. The Z Fold 7 from the previous summer has the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy. The new chip brings a higher GPU clock and much more processing power.

Both rely on Google’s Gemini with voice assistant, Circle to Search and Gemini Live. Honor adds:

• Magic Portal: Long-pressing content like photos or addresses opens an AI side panel with matching app suggestions, for example WhatsApp for sending or Google Maps for an address. Once you’ve gotten used to it, it’s practical.
• AI Memory: A three-finger swipe down saves a screenshot in an app that you can search. I don’t quite see the point, because every photo library can be searched with AI today. Maybe I’m missing the killer feature.

For multitasking, both do the same: split screen with a savable app combination. The V6 additionally has a feature called Fast Flex: If you open the device to a certain angle, the split screen opens automatically.

Integration with Apple

With MagicOS 10, Honor has greatly expanded integration into the Apple ecosystem:

• The unfolded main screen can be used wirelessly as a second monitor for a Mac or MacBook. For that, the Mac needs the Honor Super Workstation app and a linked Honor ID. I couldn’t test that.
• Notifications can be sent from the V6 to an Apple Watch and vice versa. That is a bit of eyewash, because you still need an iPhone paired with the Apple Watch. But if you use the V6 privately and an iPhone for work, you have an advantage.

The Magic V6 also comes with a matching case in the box.

Price

The recommended retail price (RRP) of the Honor Magic V6 is €2,299.90 for 512 GB. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 with 512 GB cost €2,069 in the Samsung Shop, and it’s surely cheaper elsewhere. The links to both devices are in the video description.

Verdict

Battery, display, camera, stylus support and Apple integration: The Magic V6 does everything better. The twist: The Z Fold 7 is already a year old and only briefly Samsung’s current foldable. The Fold 8 and Flip 8 devices are expected shortly, and that will reshuffle the cards. If you are choosing between the Z Fold 7 and the Magic V6 now because of a contract or to save money, you should take the V6. If you stay in the Samsung ecosystem and want full integration with your Samsung devices, take the Z Fold 7 or wait for the 8 devices. I myself have switched completely to foldables and can’t imagine a normal smartphone as a daily driver anymore.