This is a big launch for Honor as this is the first non-Samsung horizontal folding phone that has been launched in the UK. It is also aiming to be undercutting the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 and the recently announced Pixel Fold. if you caught the recent article that I published regarding the price for this phone you will have noted that you can get the Magic Vs for as little as £1399 as the standard RRP, however, it is highly probable that this will be subject to discounts as Honor do love to do a good discount now and again. That is a massive and significant saving over the other two options on the market at this time.

The Pixel Fold is coming in at £1849 for a matching spec and the Z Fold 4 will cost £1769 without any trade-in options on either phone. Now I know that these phones will offer things that the Magic VS cannot but the latest from Honor is by no means a slouch in any respect. I will be mainly focusing this review on the comparison with the Z Fold 4 as I have been using this as my primary phone for nearly 8 months outwith times when I have been using a review device. I have grown quite accustomed to the way I want my folding phone to work for me and things that can be improved in this area.

So I would normally go into a full tour of the device and a specs list for you at this point in the review but I am going to skip that here and suggest that you pursue the Unboxing Article that I posted back when I first received the phone earlier this month.

I will however include the specs list here again for those of you who don’t want to click over to that post above.

Design

Now that we have ticked that off it is time for a few of my thought now that I have used the phone and lived with it for a bit longer.

First thing first and this won’t be a surprise for those of you who have used foldable already is that this phone has got a fair bit of heft about it. You will notice this in your pocket when you are stowing it, not just in the weight though as the phone is thicker than a candy bar design. This is hardly surprising as the phone essentially consists of two phones held together by a hinge assembly in the middle. Whilst I have mentioned the hinge this is an area where Honor has invested a lot of time and energy in the development of the phone and as such they have managed to achieve something that Samsung has not in that this hinge is a no-gap hinge and the actual size of it is considerably smaller than that of the Z Fold 4

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The hinge is also slightly less complicated and whilst this does mean that the size is smaller it doe cause an issue when you are trying to find the correct screen angle when using it partially folded. The Z Fold 4 will be happy at most over approx 25 degrees to the full 180 degrees. This is down to the much more complex hinge design which Samsung has refined over 4 generations of development. Sadly the same cannot be said about the Magic Vs hinge as I found that it was only really happy at an opening angle between 35 degrees to about 150 degrees as the hinge does not have the same friction capabilities built into the device.

Whilst this is by no means a deal breaker for me it is something that I feel is important to know about as some people will want to use the phone at the wide end of these angles for viewing video content etc. I found it was a pain point when I was using it to read Ebooks in particular. There is however one saving grace in that the Magic Vs is very secure when it is fully closed maybe even more so than the Z Fold 4 is.

A big difference between the two devices in terms of the screen footprints both when folded or unfolded, this is most notable when the phones are closed as the Magic Vs has got the larger outer display, especially in terms of width. this makes for a nicer experience when using the phone closed as you can use it more like a regular phone. I found that I was using it more in the folded state than I was with the Z Fold 4, I really only used the screen unfolded if I was settling into a long session of browsing socials, the web or consuming media content. This feels like one of the key benefits of a folding phone and the way you interact with them but this is also where software becomes a big factor as well and I will cover that a bit later on.

Another design aspect that liked is the bundled case that I had included in my review kit as it doesn’t add any bulk to what is as I already mentioned a chunky device, this is appreciated and is a massive improvement to my Z Fold 4 which I ended up using without a case for most of the time I have had and it shows the marks due to this.

The next thing I like more than I thought I would is the positioning of the Volume buttons and the Power buttons on the different sections of the folding screens. It meant that I had a lot fewer accidental presses when I was playing games or watching videos on the phone. The Power key is in a good place for finding and using for unlocking the phone however it is set up in a strange way in the software. I found that there were a lot of occasions when I was having to use the fingerprint reader differently than on the Z Fold 4. Normally I would expect that when I put my finger on the reader it would perform a scan and then unlock the screen without the need for an actual press. I thought this must have been a setting issue so I check the settings and it was set up correctly but it was just not working as I expected, now I have got an early production unit so your mileage may vary if you get one but it is something to be aware of.

UPDATE:-Shortly after starting this review my Magic Vs received a software update that seems to have improved the behaviour of the fingerprint reader and I was not seeing the missed read of the sensor as often.

I also like the positioning of the speakers as it provides a good soundscape when watching videos as the speakers are less likely to be covered by your fingers when holding it in the landscape.

In terms of negatives I would say the main ones are the fingerprint magnet that is the rear cover, I would recommend the Blue colour version if you don’t like a smudgy rear. The offset camera lens array means that the phone will not sit flat on a surface and will rock, especially when being used in folded mode. Other than these things I genuinely do like the design of the phone and I would (barring the hinge stiffness which I identified earlier) say that it may be slightly above the Z Fold 4 in the design stakes. However, there is so much more to these two phones than design, so it is time to dig into the hardware and performance.
Hardware and Performance

So there are a few areas where the hardware of the Magic Vs is significantly different to that of the Z Fold 4. The there areas I want to specifically focus on are the Screen Tech, the Battery and Charging tech and the Camera Array.

Screen tech:

Without further ado let’s take a closer look at the screens. The external screens as we have mentioned are different in terms of size and aspect ratio but that is really the main difference. Yes, the Samsung one will get slightly brighter but in most scenarios the Magic Vs has been plenty bright enough for me. The refresh rates of both panels are the same at 120hz and they are both sufficiently high resolution for daily use. With both screens using forms of OLED tech the colours are bright and crisp on both and the blacks are inky and deep when they need to be, incendentally in terms of colour representation the same statement rings true for the internal displays on both phones. The big difference comes into play when we are talking about the internal displays as the Z Fold 4 has one or two aspects where it gets a leg up on the Magic Vs.

I will cover the more minor one first, the refresh rate of the internal display on the Magic Vs drops to a 90hz refresh rate which is not something I would really worry about and unless you have very good eyesight in normal use you will not notice this. I was only able to see a very slight difference when was scrolling a website with the phones both unfolded and them set up side by side. It shouldn’t affect your gaming either as the Honor will also push the refresh rate to the highest available setting during gaming due to the GPU Turbo X software tweaks.

The second big difference is potentially much more substantial and that is that the Magic Vs does not have a digitizer on the inner screen meaning that you will not be able to use a stylus of any kind on the inner display like you can on the Z Fold 4. Now I say that is potentially a bigger issue but for me, it is a non-issue as I can count on my fingers of one hand how many times I have actually used the SPen on the Z Fold 4 inner display. I simply don’t see this as being a useful feature and this is down to the way the stylus has been integrated with the phone. Quite simply it hasn’t been, which means it is never on me as I refuse to have it clipped onto the outside of the phone case adding even more bulk to what is already a bulky phone. I am glad that Honor did not try and copy this feature as I don’t feel it is a useful enhancement for me until that is they can actually have the SPen stowed inside the phone frame for quick and easy access like on the Note series of old. In short, if you need a folding phone that has Stylus input then buy a Z Fold series device if not then the world is going to be your oyster as you now have the Honor Magic Vs 5G and the Pixel Fold to choose from in the UK and more will come very soon trust me on that.

Battery and Charging tech:

In the simplest possible terms, this phone has the Z Fold 4 liked in terms of what the battery is and what it can do in terms of longevity and charging speed. it is however not that fully onesided as the Z Fold 4 does claw some points back here with Qi Wireless charging and reverse Wireless charging support. The batteries in both phones are split cells across both sides of the hinge as this allows for the phone to feel more balanced. I believe the split in the Magic Vs is a 50/50 split whereas with the Z Fold 4, I think there is a bit more battery in the camera half of the phone. This doesn’t really matter in terms of the use as both phones balanced excellently for weight on both halves. What it does mean as the cell sizes for the Honor are equal in capacity then it can adopt the faster charging technology to fill the bigger 5000mah total capacity battery.

The Honor will use their propriety SuperCharge charging technology to allow the Magic Vs to charge from 0 to full in under an hour as opposed to the slower charging of Z Fold 4, which can take nearly 1 hour 30 mins from my testing. Whilst this is not a big issue for me it is good to know that I can quickly top up the Magic Vs with a SuperCharge charger and it will get back up to 50% in the time it takes for me to have a quick shower before I head out for the day.

What is however a shame is that this is the only way I can get power into the phone as there is no QI charging here either fast or slow and no reverse charging for your earbuds or watches etc. This is annoying as I have become a wireless charging covert for my phones and I hate having to use wired charging as I have a wired charging stand built into my desk and on my bedside table I even have it available in my car! Fortunately, the pain of having to plug in is lessened by the fact that I can eek two days of use out of this battery without too much trouble on a normal workday. When using it more intensively that will come down to about a day and a quarter. This is however still better than on the Z Fold 4 as most days I was getting near to empty by the end of the day. So there are pros and cons in each camp but I think for me, I am in my happy place with the Wireless charging capability on the Z Fold 4 if I had to choose one over the other.

Camera array:

Again this is an area where there are differences in terms of the numbers but in reality, those differences are not that significant. That is until you come to the front camera of the inside display. So let’s address that first, on the Z Fold 4 Samsung has tried to use a hidden under-display camera to hide the camera when it is not in use this results in the camera being quite a low MP (4) and this reflects the quality of image that is produced as it is normally pretty bad. On the Magic Vs, they decided against the use of this emerging tech and went with a much more simple hole-punch camera which allows them to use a higher quality 16MP sensor that works as you expect as normal from a front-facing camera, they actually use the same senoras they use on the outer display so you will not see any difference between the two cameras. As for my thoughts, I am not going to use either normally so I don’t care about it but I do like that the one on the Z Fold 4 is kinda hidden when it is not in use.

As for the rear camera’s we have got similar triple sensor arrays on both phones with slightly different setups.

On the Z Fold 4 we have got the following;

12MP Ultra-Wide camera F1.8 aperture , 50 MP Wide-Angle camera F2.2 aperture, 10MP 3x Optical Zoom Telephoto camera F2.4 aperture

On the Magic Vs we have the following

50MP Ultra-Wide camera F2.o aperture, 54MP Main camera F1.9 aperture, 8MP 3x Optical Zoom Telephoto camera F2.4 aperture

So as you can see they have got differing numbers of megapixels but as we know the numbers don’t always paint the full picture when it comes to cameras. I have been able to get good photos from both but I will go into this is in more detail in the cameras section of the review below. What is a big difference is in terms of the way these cameras are mounted. The array on the Magic Vs is mounted in the corner in a very similar position to what we find with the Z Fold 4 but the difference is that while the lenses on the ZFold 4 are in a slim sliver, the Magic Vs has them all in one large and wide glass bump. I feel that this bump protrudes a lot more on the Magic Vs which means that the phone is more prone to rocking when laid on a flat surface in folded state. This may be exaggerated by the way that the stock case fits around the camera bumps respectively but then found the Z Fold 4 was more stable, probably due to the slightly bulkier case.

As I am writing this I had almost forgotten one fairly major difference to the hardware is the level of ingress protection of the devices as this is very different across the two phones. Neither of the phones has any official dustproof rating so this may not be one to use on your next trip to the desert but if you are planning on getting them wet then I would be concerned with the Magic Vs as it does not have any waterproofing rating whereas the Z Fold 4 is rated for IP8X which should mean that it can take a quick splash here and there. In all honesty, I wouldn’t feel 100% comfortable with taking either of these down to my local beach due to the sand….. Eurgh nasty stuff.

As for Performance, the phones are very level in terms of performance which is hardly surprising as I have got two phones which at their cores both have the same specs, Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 + Gen processor, 12GB of Ram and 512GB of storage (Z Fold 4 is available in smaller 256GB and larger 1TB sizes). They both use the Adreno 730 GU as well so the raw number crunching abilities are the same, however, this is again an area where software is a big factor so more about that later. I have been happy to use both phones as my daily driver and experienced very few issues with ever needing more oompf out of either device. The only thing I would say is that the Samsung feels a touch more refined but I am going to put this down to the software implementation as you will see there are some significant differences to be found there.
Software

I have broached this matter a few times so it is now to pool the wool back and dig into what makes these phones so different. The crux here is that the software on the Samsung is more evolved and fits better to the foldable form factor. This is quite understandable as they have had four years of developing the software for the fold whereas Honor is only in its second year of doing things for foldable phones. Normally I would say that I prefer the cleanness of the lack of modding that has been carried out to the core Android 13 software on the Magic Vs as I am normally a big fan of the pure Android UI but this is not the case here. Let me explain.

The Magic Vs has taken a simple approach to the implementation of Andriod 13 on the phone and as such there is no immediate apparent evidence that the form factor has been given much thought. An example of this is when you have taken the time to set up your home screen layout on the external display and then you open it to be a tablet-style device this app layout is exactly the same in terms of layout (see below examples).

Now those of you who are familiar with my reviews may be thinking well that is just how you like things clean and uncomplicated. However, when it comes to a tablet-style foldable form factor I want my tablet-mode home screen to reflect that I am working on a bigger canvas. My logic is if I am unfolding the screen I am doing so as I want to be reviewing the content on that bigger screen or I want to be productive, I will therefore have my main apps for these tasks at the forefront with the widgets laid out to fit into the bigger display format. When I then fold the back top phone mode I would then go back to my regular app layout for daily normal use. Now I will be the first to admit this is perhaps a behavioural trait that has been learned from using the Z Fold devices over a few generations, but I would also argue that this may have come from using tablets in the past as well.

Unfortunately, this is not the case with the Magic Vs as when you unfold the screen to enter tablet mode your app layout is exactly the same just with slightly bigger iconography. This is something that I have now learnt to live with but it is a shame that Samsung give you the option to have different home screen layouts depending on what mode you are in. I do however this is an option that comes more from Samsung One UI than from Google so I do understand. What is more concerning is that I dont see many other ways that the Ui Element s that Google has been developing for foldable have come through either. We dont have a navigation dock to allow you to quickly switch between apps, the back navigation gesture does not only work on the active app when in-app pair mode and the biggest sin of all is the lack of the App Drawer as shown in the video below!!!

This last point is in my opinion inexcusable for any Android software UI and it is especially worse on a Folding phone. Up until I was given this review unit I have always had the option on Honor devices and some others from Chinese brands as well to have either all apps on-screen iPhone style or an App Drawer. I have always been a fan of the latter and it is normally the first thing I do when setting up a phone if it isn’t on by default. I was shocked to see that this was not an option that I could see within the Ui anywhere, so I asked Honor as I thought it may be down to me having an early preview of the phone. Sadly this was not the case as I am now (to my knowledge) running release firmware and there is still no App drawer. I was advised that this was due to the UI embracing the folding nature of the device. the end result is I have an extra display screen which has all the apps that I rarely used and a folder with all of the Honor duplicate apps in there as well. It is messy and I can’t fathom why anyone would want this on an Android phone at all.

Moving away from the negative to the more positive, Once you do start using the multi-tasking it does become more intuitive use but it is nowhere near as simple as on the Z Fold 4. You can have apps open as split-screen apps and floating apps as well. you can also use Picture in Picture mode for some video playback apps. Some apps are context and fold-state aware. for example, Gmail will adopt a dual view mode like you get a on tablet when the phone is unfolded in landscape but it will revert to normal when folded. Youtube will also respond to the fold state and orientation really nicely as seen in the image below. Twitter gives you the option of opening a split screen when you click on a link whilst having your main feed open and being able to action the reply or link in the other half, this does need to be enabled under foldable settings though. Some other apps are not quite as well-honed but that is more to do with the developers than anything else.

My main takeaway from the Magic Vs is that Samsung has done a boatload of work to make the software work with the folding phone form factor as well as it does on the Z Fold 4 and Android have some catching up to do. This does concern me slightly as I have put down a preorder for the Pixel Fold and if the UI features that I like come from Samsung, is that going to be a mistake?

Only time will tell I guess but I hope with Google now have ig hardware of their own in the mix this will give the push needed for Developers to start thinking about how we can really use the real estate better. Hopefully, with the Magic Vs being on the more affordable end of the currently available foldable it will bring the tablet-style foldable form factor to a wider audience which will also increase the need for better software implementation onto these devices from Google themselves.

Here is a selection of images of the software of various apps for you to see some of the multitasking at work.

I just hope that any changes that are made to the core Android design in Android 14 are quickly rolled out to the Magic Vs as well

Last but not least we need to discuss the camera on the Magic Vs
Camera

While this is not one of the main draws for the phone as that is the giant foldable screen it still needs to perform to a reasonable degree as this would be your main on-the-go camera if you are to buy one of these phones. The good news is I have been pleased with the camera in the situations I have tried it in. I am not going to say that I have been blown away by the camera performance but it has been more than satisfactory for use day to day.

I have been happy with the various different levels of Zoom and I have found that I have not been lacking in this area it does a good job at closes up and wider shots as well and I include a few samples of this below for you to see for yourself.

The camera modes are as you would expect from Honor all here and this allows for you to get some rather interesting shots and capture on multiple camera modules at one time which is a nice feature but if I am honest it is not one I see myself eve rising and indeed I have not used it during the course of this review.

I like the UI of the camera it is straightforward to use and easy navigate, you can also customise which shortcut modes you have in your toolbar for quick changes to shooting modes. Honestly, I am not much a of pixel peeper if the pictures that are captured by the camera are useable then for the most part I am happy. I have included a selection of photos below for you to review if you want to see what the phone can produce along with a very short video clip to give it a representation of the video quality.

Here is a video clip that was shot a 1080p and 30fps but has had to be downgraded by WordPress to share here so it is now 720p and 25fps but it is still representative of what the camera can do for video work.

Next up is the obligatory selfie using the front-facing outer display camera which is the same in terms of spec as the internal one.

Pretty happy with the result but given the subject matter it was never gonna be great was it?

Finally here are a few low-light images where weaknesses for the camera start to show

This one isn’t too and as it has picked up a bit of light from the clock face and that has helped however the next one which is the other side of the room where it was darker things start to unfold pretty quickly.

Magic Vs very Low Light

You can start to see some edge blending where the phone tries to make up for the lack of clarity to try and give you a good image but it fails miserably. For context this is the same shot with some light

You can clearly see the differences here. Most phones would of course struggle in the conditions I took the same shot with my Z Fold 4 and the result was a bit better but still far from perfect as I could still see the edge blurring see below

Z Fold 4 very Low Light

I am as I mentioned above pretty happy with the result in the good lighting of the Magic Vs and as I don’t tend to venture out after dusk anymore i would normally be using the Night modes of the camera anyway so this is moot point for me.
Conclusion

So there you have it my review of the Honor Magic Fold Vs. This is an important phone for Honor as mentioned as it is them making a statement that they want to play in the Foldable market on the global stage (the previous Magic V was a Chinese-only release) and they have come out strong and also undercut their rivals in the space in doing so. However, I do feel that whilst the hardware is something for the most part I prefer, with the exception of the hinge mechanism which is too prone to unfolding when you don’t want it to, there is til work to be done on software. Honest ly this conclusion surprises me as i thought that i would prefer the implementation of the more clean Ui over what is offered by Samsungs One Ui on the Z Fold 4. I also felt that the lack of an app drawer on this phone is a big misstep and this will need to be looked into as they should at least give the user the option (i did eventually get over it though!).

Do I think it is worth the investment into getting one now given that we have just had the Pixel Fold announced and we have got the Z Fold 5 on the horizon imminently? Well, it is a simple question of how much you are willing to pay and also if you think having a non-stowable stylus is important. if you are not willing to pay but do want the stylus and don’t mind buying a refurbished unit then i would say go for the Z Fold 4 as you pick these up for less than half the original price at the moment in great condition. if you want the wider aspect ratio afforded by the front display then you have got two real options the unknown Pixel Fold which has a very phone-like width to the front display and then becomes more of a tablet when unfolded or you go with the slimmer but taller Honor Magic vs which still give you all the benefits of folding screens but in taller skinnier front screen ratio and a squarer unfolded internal display, it is also nearly £500 cheaper.

I like the Honor Magic Vs 5G but the software is a bit too compromised for me and as such I would b sticking with the Z Fold 4 for the time being but it has given me food for thought about my planned move to the Pixel Fold at the end of next month. I guess i have inadvertently become a One UI Foldable fan, which was very unexpected!!

The Honor Magic Vs 5G is available to buy now from Honor’s website and is currently retailing at £1399 with shipping of the BHlack colour sooner than the Cyan one which is the more popular and the one I would go for if I was buying one now.

The post Honor Magic Vs 5G – Review. is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

I have been looking at the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G over the last few days and I have recently done an unboxing of the device which left me impressed. The phone was already cheap at £299 however that price has dropped by £20 meaning that you can now pick up this phone for under £280, £279 to be exact.

I am still to complete my review of the device but in the few days I have used it so far I am pretty pleased with the device. The hardware feels great and its battery life is plenty to get me through a full day with ease and a bit left in the tank.

The camera is one potential area for weakness but at the price that this phone is currently at I can excuse certain weaknesses. OnePlus seem to be pitching this phone as an entry-level phone and look to be targeting a younger segment of the market especially if the marketing material is anything to buy. This price reduction will ensure that it is one on the potential list for buyers in that category.

That’s it for now just a quick update for you on a cracking deal especially if you have a young adult in your group that needs a new device 

The post OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G – Price drop!! is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

So we are a little bit late to the party on this one but we have finally had that chance to do an unboxing of the latest phone in the OnePlus Nord lineup. I have used the 1st Gen Nord and I also had the opportunity to use the 2nd Gen Nord 2 as well. Both were great phones and while they were significantly cheaper in price than the full-on number series devices, I was not disappointed by them.

Now admittedly there have always been some sacrifices made t get the Nord series produced on a tighter budget and these are as evident as they always are on the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G (to be henceforth referred to as the Nord CE 3). I will come back to some of the ommissions that were made to get under the budget set by the designers in a moment, before that though let’s take a moment to review the unboxing video.

Here are the Specs below

The Specs

Next up is time for a tour of the device in all its glory starting of course from the top edge and working our way around the phone.

So on the top, we find that we have got a single microphone port and that is it.

Next around on the right-hand side is where we will find the power key that also doubles up as the fingerprint reader for the phone. This sits slightly proud of the edge of the body which makes it a bit easier to locate. unfortunately by the nature of it being a fingerprint reader as well as the power key, it lacks all texture meaning it can be missed easily. As a fingerprint reader, it is reasonably accurate but I have to say it is not one of the better side-mounted units I have used it is early days maybe it will improve over time.

Moving to the bottom of the phone is where we can find a speaker grill on the left and the mic hole and lo and behold a 3.5mm headphone jack! This is a rarity o phones these days and is nice to see although if I am honest I can’t see myself actually using it given the Nord Buds 2 that I also got in the box with the phone ( this is not standard as i got a demo kit for review purpose) Still nice to see that there are some phones out there that still account for this now somewhat niche requirement.

Sitting in between these is a USB Type C port that will support SuperVooc fast charging at 67W which is really nice to see and the phone does charge in a really quick timeframe which is handy given the lack of wireless charging in any way, which is understandable for the price point.

Continuing around the fourth edge we have got our combo volume rocker and sim card slot which has another uncommon trick inside. This Nano Sim card slot is also cable of receiving a second Nano Sim Card or a Micro SDcArd slot of up to 1TB! This is great news for the memory hoarders out there!

On the rear, we got our camera array which I composed of two large circular apertures the top of which contains a Samsung HM6 sensor capable of up to 108MP and has an aperture of F/1.75. The sensor sits behind a Six Element lens and although it does not have OIS it is at least supported by EIS.

Below we find that the second circle contains a 2MP depth of field sensor and 2MP Macro lens. Next to this, we find a single LED flash which is plenty bright and doubles nicely as a torch when needed.

The main feature here is the 108MP camera sensor which I have yet to test in anger but hopefully will produce serviceable results for the user without too much faffing with settings.

The back panel is made of plastic and is very very fingerprint friendly due to its glossy finish which is why I was glad to find the enclosed TPU see-through case which has a reassuringly tight fit around the phone.

Coming back the front of the phone we have a few things to mention, starting at the very top of the display is where we will find a small portal for the earpiece and the top speaker. The speakers both combine to give an average sound experience that is suitable for Youtube but if you are gaming or listening to music I would recommend that you either use some Bluetooth headphones or take advantage of the built-in 3.5mm headphone jack to get the best audio experience.

Below this earpiece is of course where we find the fourth camera on the phone and all I can say about his one is that it is a 16MP camera and that is about it as I haven’t been provided with any other details. it does of course come with all the normal features that you would find on an Android phone designed for both the Asian and Western markets ie all the retouch tools associated with Beauty Mode. Fortunately, these can be turned off to give you normalise results.

Below this is the LCD Panel which is capable of an Adaptive refresh rate between 30Hz/48Hz/50Hz/60HZ/90Hz/120Hz. In honesty though I checked this and you only have 2 options either High (120Hz Max) and Standard (60Hz Max) so maybe some creative market mumbo jumbo there. I am sure that the screen is capable of the step changes ut most users are unlikely to notice them. It is nice to see these High refresh rates filtering down to both LCD panels and cheaper devices though so nice job OnePlus.

The screen is a really nice size of the screen especially as this phone is being targeted towards a market where the screen size is an important factor as its intended audience will be using the phone more for media consumption/creation, social media and gaming than say phone calls. I have used it for a little bit and I am more than happy with the screen but then I am someone who has recently made the move to foldable which is the top of the big screen pile so what do I know? OnePlus does at least include an easy-to-use one-handed mode if you find this is required.

So that sums up the tour of the phone which from my limited experience so far is a cracker of a phone and one that I think any young (or young at heart) phone user would be more than happy with. I will of course run it as a daily device for a full review but I have to say I am presently surprised with the initial experience of the phone out of the box. I know that my son would be more than happy with it as it is sufficient for most of what he does on his mum’s phone (that he steals a lot). I also think that the more price-conscious user would be more than happy with this as a phone as it ticks a lot of boxes for a lot of people from what I have seen so far.

If you like what you have seen and want to pick up the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G for yourself then you can buy it now from OnePlus on their website for £299 and you can also get a free set of 3.5mm headphones or a Snaddtone bumper case if the include clear case is not to you liking. it is also available for the same price minus the freebies from Amazon as well if you prefer shopping there.

The post OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G – Unboxing. is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

The Honor Magic Vs 5G has finally been given it a release date here in the UK and it is also more importantly maybe has been given a price.

There are two prices to be aware of here a pre-order price and then the full RRP. Let’s have a look at them with a little bit more insight.

The first price which I am going to call the preorder price is going to be £1199 which will only be available if you subscribe and get a £200 off early bird voucher! This is an awesome price for the phone and at the price, I would be very tempted. The price is on the verge of impulse buys for the current flagship phones on the market these days! 

The second price is the full RRP and this is still pretty darn good at £1399 which is about £400 pound cheaper than the newly announced Pixel Fold.

So when are you going to be able to buy one if those prices have tickled your fancy? The Magic Vs will go on sale in the UK on the 19th of May on the HONOR website in Cyan and Black, and on the 26th of May on Amazon, Argos and Very in Black. It is also going to be available from the 3 network later in June TBC and you will get 6 months of free airtime as part of the bundle.

Bear in mind though if you want the Cyan colour and let’s face it it is the best colour then this is an exclusive to the Honor store

I am really glad to see that these prices are coming in at what they are and it is not shy in terms of these specs as you will have been able to see from my Unboxing post from the other day. There are several things that single this phone out above the competition (now that we have seen some of it at least).

Do you plan on getting one as these prices are a bit more compelling than the prices being offered from the like of Samsung and Google for their high-end foldables?

Here is a short teaser vid to tickle your taste buds

HONOR Announces the UK Launch and Price of its Folding Flagship, the HONOR Magic Vs priced at £1,399

London, UK – May 12^th, 2023 – Global technology brand, HONOR, today announced the UK launch date and price of its latest folding flagship smartphone, HONOR Magic Vs. The Magic Vs will go on sale in the UK on the 19^th May on the HONOR website, Hihonor, in Cyan and Black, and on the 26^th May in Amazon, Argos and Very in Black. The Magic Vs will also be available with Three in Early June, with 6-months free airtime on Unlimited data plans.

The UK RRP for Magic Vs is £1,399, however with launch offers from Hihonor, customers can purchase the Magic Vs from as low as £1,199 if users subscribe for more info and purchase the device before 26^th May.

The HONOR Magic Vs was announced globally at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona earlier this year. However, HONOR Magic Vs is the first foldable flagship to debut outside of China and boasts exceptional design, display, and performance upgrades compared to existing foldable smartphones on the market.

Introducing A Groundbreaking Hinge Design

The HONOR Magic Vs is exceptionally slim and lightweight, measuring just 12.9mm thin when folded and 267g in weight. Despite its compact nature, the HONOR Magic Vs features a 5000mAh battery, the largest battery capacity among foldable smartphones under 270g available today.

Contributing to the light weight of the HONOR Magic Vs is a revolutionary Super-light Gearless Hinge that has been carefully crafted using single-piece casting technology, reducing the number of structural components from 92 in the previous generation down to just 4. The hinge can withstand up to 400,000 folds as tested by TÜV Rheinland, which is equivalent to more than ten years of use based on 100 folds per day, setting a new benchmark for foldable smartphone design.

The HONOR Magic Vs folds tightly without a gap and has an almost fully flat screen when unfolded, a feature that competing foldable devices on the market do not offer.

Dual Display Delivers an Exceptional Viewing Experience

The HONOR Magic Vs features a user-friendly 6.45-inch external display with a 21:9 aspect ratio and a 90% screen-to-body ratio. When unfolded, the HONOR Magic Vs delivers a tablet-like experience with an extra-wide 7.9-inch internal display, enabling users to multi-task and view content with remarkable ease.

Packed with professional eye comfort solutions, the HONOR Magic Vs features Dynamic Dimming, Circadian Night Display, and 1920Hz Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) Dimming, the highest frequency ever achieved in the current foldable smartphones markets, to effectively reduce the effects of digital eye strain. 

Superior Configurations for a Powerful User Experience

The HONOR Magic Vs is equipped with an impressive rear triple camera system comprising a 54MP IMX800 Main Camera, a 50MP Ultra-Wide & Macro Main Camera and an 8MP 3X Optical Zoom Camera, delivering an exceptional photography experience, no matter the shooting scenario.

Powered by the Snapdragon^® 8+ Gen 1 Mobile Platform from Qualcomm, the HONOR Magic Vs delivers enhanced performance with higher power efficiency for a faster and smoother user experience. With HONOR’s Turbo X engines, it strives to bring you longer battery life and a smoother experience.

The HONOR Magic Vs runs the latest HONOR MagicOS 7.1 based on Android 13. In addition to MagicRing for multi-device collaboration and Magic Text for intelligent text recognition, the foldable flagship features Smart Multi-window and APP Extender to support multi-tasking across applications and within the same application, respectively, helping users save time.

Olivier Dobo, Marketing Director at HONOR UK said: “We know our product portfolio puts some of the best features into the hands of consumers. With HONOR Magic Vs coming to the UK, we are thrilled that UK customers will get to experience our latest folding flagship device.”

He continued: “With Magic Vs’ unique hinge design, stellar camera set-up and Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, we know it can fiercely compete in the existing foldable phone market and bring solid form-factor and exceptional performance for those who want the best out of their foldable phone.”

For more information, please visit HONOR online at www.hihonor.com/uk

The post Honor Magic Vs 5G – Release date and pricing announced is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

I have been using a folding phone for quite a few years now but up until the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 5G was available (and a nice tax rebate came my way), I had not been able to find one that stuck. The problem was that here in the UK unless you wanted to import from China, there were no real other options. The good news is that all changes in the next couple of weeks as we are about to have another two (at least) options become available.

I am lucky enough to have been given the opportunity to test one of those options and I have had my hands on the for the last week. I am talking about the Honor Magic Vs 5G. I have a preview unit of what will be landing in the UK markets very soon and I have some thoughts on it since I unboxed it a week ago. Usually, I would post my first thoughts within 24 hrs of the unboxing being done, however, this time around I was awaiting a forward update to be released before I posted. That update has now arrived so I am now happy to post my thoughts.

Now that is out of the way let’s dive into the device’s specs.

Some pretty good-looking specs but folding phones are so much more than their component parts. The key to a folding phone and also to differentiating it in terms of the way it feels is all down to the design and feel. So onto the tour of the device.

Let’s start with the hinge. there has been a lot of talk about the Hinge in the Honor Magic Vs 5G. It is rightly deserving this as the hinge from the outside edge is very small looking and it feels very strong when in use. On the inside of the hinge, we have only 4 major components instead of the predecessor’s 96 major components! That is some real evolution of design there. However, it does present a problem. i have become quite accustomed to having the hinge in a halfway open position on my Fold 4 but this is not something that is easily achieved on the Magic Vs. it will Hold the angle but it does require a bit more fiddling to get it to stay put and even then it is only a matter of time until it unfolds fully. Whilst it may not be a major issue I have grown used to having the phone in “book mode” for reading e-books at night. It’s a shame that the Magic Vs doesn’t keep its position as well. I have tried to show an example of this in the clip below.

As for the rest of the tour let’s start-up on the top bezels where we can find on one side a pinhole mic a speaker grill and then an IR blaster, which i still find weird to see on phones these days but it has long been a feature of Honor devices

Moving around we have got a staggered arrangement meant of keys with the volume rocker being on the upper of the edge and the power button/fingerprint reader being on the bottom. This staggering is actually quite clever as it means when the phone is unfolded then the volume is on the left-hand side and the power is on the right.

When you use the phone in its landscape orientation of wit the fold horizontally then the power button is on the bottom. This is true of the Fold 4 as well but on the Magic Vs, I find that the power button is not where my fingers rest naturally which means I don’t accidentally press it when gaming.

On the bottom edge, we have got a Dual sim card slot with a waterproof gasket. another speaker grill and mic and then the USB Type C Gen 3.1. This allows for the use of fast charging when used on a suitable fats charger brick and also Video and data throughput allows you to utilise a Desktop UI akin to Samsungs DEX mode.

This USB port also opens the door to using Honor’s proprietary Supercharge technology which will allow the two internal batteries to charge at up to 66W depending on the battery state and conditions. This is very useful and does go a little way to make up for the loss of lack of a QI charging could for Wireless charging, although, for a phone of this level, I would still have expected that to be on board.

Moving around the rear we have a relatively normal-looking rear panel with an overly glossy fingerprint magnet glass panel and a larger-than-life camera array. This array features 3 sensors each of the highest quality. We have got  the following

• 54MP IMX800 Main Camera (f/1.9),
• 50MP Ultra Wide & Macro Main Camera (f/2.0),
• 8MP 3X Optical Zoom Camera (f/2.4)

However, things change when the phone is unfolded as part of the back of the phone used to be the outer display which now becomes a rear panel!

Now that I have mentioned the outer display it is a panel that is nice and tall but also and importantly a little bit wide than the one found o the Fold 4. This makes for a very useable outer display and the phone can be used perfectly in the one hand via this screen. the panel has the following  specs

Size: 6.45″
Type: OLED,
HDR10+ Screen-to-body ratio: 90%
Refresh rate: up to 120Hz
Brightness: up to 1200 nits
Resolution: 2560 x 1080 pixels
Pixel density: 431 PPI

It is a very nice panel to use and for the most part when in use it feels just like a normal phone albeit a bit thicker than a normal phone. Even though there is not a massive difference in the outer screen sizes of the Fold 4 against the Magic Vs for ease of use the Magic Vs just feels that little bit better which I have to say did surprise me. The only slight negative is that the pre-fitted screen protector is quite sticky and therefore smudges and fingerprints are easily added and the finger doesn’t seem to track as smoothly as on Gorilla Glass Victus. I do like having the high refresh rate on the outer display and i feel that this is now becoming the industry standard spec for this price point and a lot lower in some cases.

Embedded into the middle of the front /outer display is a 16MP selfie camera with the following specs

16MP Camera (f/2.45),
Video: Up to 1080 × 2520 pixels,
Photo: Up to 3456 × 4608 pixels

Just above the camera is a tiny groove which acts as the earpiece for voice calls and the audio produced from this opening is very clear and is not so loud that other parties will be able to hear your conversations either.

Whilst talking about calls you may have noticed that there are a lot of antenna lines around the edge of the phone and this makes for some really good signal reception on both cellular signal and Wifi signal. I have been impressed with the quality of the signals being held on all networks that I have tested the phone on. as you would reasonably expect from a phone of this level in 2023.

Finally, the bit we are most interested in is the internal folding display. the display itself is great and i cannot fault it for the colour and the brightness levels. I can’t even fault the fact that it is only a 90hz display. However, the issue that I do have with the inner display and an area where the fold 4 still come into its own is how the internal display is used. This is more something that will be discussed in the software section of the full review but it is a big weak point for the Magic Vs. The inner display will mirror exactly what has been going on on t router display in terms of the layout of apps and the icon size.

This is a big shame as otherwise, the display is really good and I would go as far as saying that the crease is less noticeable than that of the Fold 4 and any preceding fold device from Samsung. As you can hopefully see from the image of the devices alongside each other below the crease is so much more visible in Fold 4 than it is in Magic Vs. This is down to the Magic Vs using a different folding screen method from the Fold 4 and for me, this is the better out of the two options.

Fold 4 on the left and Magic Vs on the right

We do of course have one other major difference on the internal screens and that is the selfie camera which is a cutout on the magic vs and it shares the same spec as the one on the outer display. I can’t really say that it makes a big difference when I am using the phones regarding the cutout as i would tend to have the cutout in the bottom right-hand corner when I am holding the phone in landscape so it doesn’t intrude too much when I am gaming or watching videos.

So that pretty much covers my unboxing for the Honor Magic Fold Vs 5G. Overall impressions are the hardware is in some ways better than the Fold 4, however, where it takes its hits they are hard hits.

I do prefer the feel of the slightly wider folded phone and using it in this way feels more natural than on the Fold 4, the differences in terms of hardware are not so apparent when you unfold it though as the Fold 4 uses this mode better in terms of software and that outweighs the benefits of the reduced groove in the middle of the display.

I have had a few days of use of the Magic Vs under my belt by the time I have written this and i will say that there are some big differences here and they will be what really makes or breaks this as an option for me especially as i have been living with a 4th gen product for some time now. 

I look forward to getting you the full review out to you soon.

I will also be getting an update on the pricing ad availability of the Honor Magic Vs 5G in the UK soon which I will share with you very soon. if you are thinking of getting a folding phone then watch this space as things are about to get more interesting and the Honor Magic Vs 5G is going to play a big part in that.

The post Honor Magic Vs 5G Unboxing is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.

Experience high-quality entertainment with the compact and lightweight Dangbei Neo LED projector, featuring full HD resolution and Dolby-certified stereo speakers.

Dangbei, a leader in innovative home entertainment solutions, is today proud to announce the launch of its latest creation, the Dangbei Neo, an all-in-one mini projector with native Netflix. Officially licensed by Netflix, the DLP projector delivers 1080p FHD visuals on a screen up to 120” and immersive surround sound powered by Dolby Audio. The Neo also packs advanced features in a sleek, compact design that is sure to impress. One of the outstanding features of the Dangbei Neo is its native Netflix capability. This means that users can enjoy their favorite Netflix shows and movies without the need for any additional devices or software. With the Netflix app built into the projector, viewers can enjoy the same streaming experience they know and love, all on the big screen. With hotkeys for three popular streaming apps – Netflix, Prime Video and YouTube – navigating through their favourite’s has never been easier.

The Neo’s compact size makes it highly versatile as it can be used either at home or when traveling, and it can even fit in a backpack. Whether it’s set up at home, in the backyard or on a camping trip, the lightweight design (3.13lbs / 1.42kg) makes it easy to carry around. It can literally be used anywhere, providing there is a power outlet. If there is no internet connection nearby, the Neo can still be used due to a host of other connectivity options such as Mirrorcast.

Small, yet stunning. The Dangbei Neo, powered by DLP technology, delivers high performance with FHD 1080p image, 540 ISO lumens, HDR10 & HLG support, and about 90% coverage of the DCI-P3 color space. Movies, TV shows, games, and more come to life with an impressive projection size of up to 120-inches, and its three color temperature options allow users to customize their viewing experience. The Dangbei Neo is also a treat for the ears as well as the eyes, with its built-in Stereo 2×6W speakers and Dolby Audio certified sound, providing a truly cinematic audio-visual experience.
Also included are intelligent imaging functions enhanced by the ToF camera system, such as auto focus, auto keystone correction, intelligent screen fit, and intelligent obstacle avoidance, providing more precise adjustments and ensuring clear and sharp images regardless of the Neo’s placement.

The Dangbei Neo also features screen mirroring and content casting, Bluetooth 5.0 and 5G Wi-Fi connectivity, allowing it to connect to various devices such as laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc. It’s even eco-friendly with a lifespan of up to 30,000 hours, and in fact uses less power than most TVs, providing years of entertainment giving the user peace of mind.

To celebrate the launch, Dangbei is offering a $100 discount coupon, making the Neo only $599 on Amazon and £649 on Amazon UK  using the £50 coupon available.

The post Dangbei Launches the Neo – An All-in-One Mini Projector with Native Netflix for the Best Compact Cinema Experience. is original content from Coolsmartphone. If you see it on another news website, please let us know.