HONOR throws some well-deserved shade at Samsung's Z Fold 6 'thin' design claims

Samsung’s recent announcement of its 2024 foldables lineup, boasting the thin design of the Galaxy Z Fold 6, hasn’t gone unnoticed by rival HONOR. In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), HONOR poked fun at Samsung’s claims of thin design, highlighting their own Magic V2’s svelter profile.

For those not up to speed, Samsung’s Z Fold 6 is indeed its thinnest and lightest book-style foldable yet, measuring an impressive 5.6mm when unfolded and 12.1mm when folded. This is a noticeable improvement from the Z Fold 5’s 6.1mm and 13.4mm dimensions. However, HONOR’s Magic V2, which has been on the market for almost a year, still outshines Samsung’s sleek design with an unfolded thickness of 4.7mm and a folded thickness of 9.9mm. Touché, HONOR.

But the plot thickens — or rather, thins — as HONOR is going to launch the Magic V3 on July 12, and it has already teased that the new model will be even slimmer than its predecessor. Now, we can point out that while the Magic V2 is slimmer, it lacks features like wireless charging and an IP rating — features Samsung’s foldables do include. That being said, current leaks suggest that the Magic V3 will add wireless charging and an IPX8 rating to its list of attributes.

If that seems impressive, the Magic V2 also features a significantly larger 5,000mAh battery compared to Samsung’s 4,400mAh battery, and the Magic V3 could come with an even larger 5,200mAh battery. It’s also worth noting that the Magic V2 is lighter than both the Z Fold 5 and the Z Fold 6, despite the latter’s significant weight reduction.

It’s no secret that Samsung lags behind Chinese competitors like HONOR in terms of pure hardware design. Chinese foldables already feature external displays that resemble regular smartphones and camera setups rivaling typical flagship phones. In contrast, Samsung’s most expensive phone still features an awkwardly narrow outer display and a camera system that feels outdated.

However, Samsung still has a trump card, and that’s its global availability. While Chinese foldables continue to push the envelope in design and features, they are often restricted to a few select markets. The Magic V2, for instance, only made its way to European markets in January this year after its initial launch in China last year.

For now, foldable fans in the US will have to make do with Samsung’s offerings. We can only hope that the upcoming Pixel Fold 2 takes the fight to Samsung this year.