IFA 2024: Honor
steals the show

Honor may not have had the biggest booth at IFA 2024 in Berlin over the last few days, but it made the biggest impact.

The highlight of the IFA tech expo, the largest consumer technology event in the world by number of attendees, was the launch of the new Honor Magic V3 foldable phone, which stole the thunder from most other launches by mobile brands. As such, it represented an uncustomary turning of the tables on the world’s largest smartphone maker, Samsung.

The Korean giant hosted one of the largest stands at IFA, focused heavily on its AI and smart home offerings, but added little to what was already well-trodden ground. Honor, meanwhile, set a new agenda in both its smartphone and AI strategy.

The Magic V3 maintained the V2’s status as the world’s thinnest inward foldable phone, reducing the V2’s already thin 9,9mm thickness when folded, to a seemingly impossible 9,2mm. The displays themselves remain unchanged, with a 6.43-inch OLED front screen sticking to 2376 x 1060 pixels, and a 120Hz refresh rate with HDR support, and a 7.92-inch unfolded screen maintaining 2344 x 2156 pixels for a glowing 402 PPI density.

The device shines beneath the surface too, and that is where Honor has packed in its next-generation credentials. Honor says it incorporates a special fibre into its body material, enhancing impact resistance by 40 times compared to other flagship bar phones, while reducing the back cover’s thickness by 40%. A proprietary Honor Super Steel Hinge can withstand up to 500,000 folding cycles. It has earned SGS Durability Certification as a result of a Super Armored Inner Screen and Anti-scratch NanoCrystal Shield.

It incorporates eye-comfort features, and claims the world’s first AI Defocus Display technology, along with Dynamic Dimming, Circadian Night Display and Natural Tone Display.

While it may not attract attention, one of the most startling aspects of the V3 is an increase in battery capacity to 5150 mAh (from 5000), an improbable feat given the thinner body. A third-generation silicon-carbon battery, it is supported by 66W wired and 50W wireless Honor SuperCharge.

The Honor Falcon Camera System has received a substantial upgrade, with a 50MP periscope telephoto camera, upgraded from 20MP, and the aperture on the wide-angle lens being enhanced from f1.9 to f1.6, although the 40MP ultra-wide camera has been reduced from 50MP. In combination, however, it sets a standard for foldable phones.

Most significantly, Honor chose IFA as the stage for unveiling a new AI-enhanced strategy, on the back of partnerships with Google, Qualcomm and Microsoft. The V3 is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform, which is designed for on-device intelligence. It promises native AI-enabled photography features like Honor AI Motion Sensing, and the Honor AI Portrait Engine.

The collaboration with Google Cloud introduces productivity features supported by Google Cloud AI models and include AI Eraser, Face to Face Translation, and Notes tools. Similar tools were launched by Samsung in its Galaxy AI unveiling in January, and it can be expected that they will evolve in lockstep across phone brands as Google rolls out more capabilities. However, Honor seems determined to differentiate itself, for example by prioritising AI privacy protection. Its announcement of AI Deepfake Detection anti-fraud technology made a splash at IFA, and underlined the brand’s intentions to be ranked among the major players.

“AI is fundamentally reshaping our industry, enriching and creating new experiences that delight consumers all around the world, every day,” said Honor Ceo George Zhao. “Our role as a smart device provider gives us incredible access to consumers. Combined with our expertise in devices, it informs our AI roadmap, allowing us to create better and more secure AI experiences that best meet their needs. Through all our new flagship devices, we hope to deliver human-centric AI experiences that consumers will find truly magical.”

Like Samsung at the launch of the S24 range and Galaxy AI in January, Honor brought a Google executive on stage to underline the significance of teaming up. Google consumer AI director Matt Waldbusser underlined the role of Google Cloud to allow any partner to tap into its AI capabilities for a diverse range of sophisticated AI applications.

This means that the roll-out of new AI features will not be a once-off, and we can expect the capabilities of this device to expand and evolve.

• The Honor Magic V3 is available three colourways: Reddish Brown, Green and Black, starting at €1999.