The Honor Magic V3 and Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold are Word - style foldables at the top of their plot , but how do they compare ?
We ’ve amply reviewed theHonor Magic V3and we ’ve gone hands - on with theGoogle Pixel 9 Pro Foldahead of our full review coming out very shortly , so it ’s safe to say we ’ve got a good idea of the real - world differences between the twofoldable flagships .
It ’s exonerated to see that Honor has the bound in the hardware department , with not only the fragile and weak design of any Bible - style foldable , but improved lastingness , a near plication - less national showing , a huge battery equal to of all - day use and speedy electrify and wireless charging to boot .
That said , Google looks to have the upper hand when it comes to software , with Team G ’s foldable offering a holistic approach to AI with element like on - gadget support for Google Gemini , automatic translation technical school , the ability to generate images and much more . It permeates much every area of the OS , and with one of the respectable software forebode around , that ’ll only go along to get beneficial over meter .
We ’re not quite ready to rescue our final verdict just yet , but here are our initial impressions of how the Honor Magic V3 and Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold comparison .
Spec comparison
Pricing
When it comes to pricing , there ’s one success – and that ’s Honor . Despite the impressive ironware on pass , Honor ’s Magic V3 be £ 1,699 in the UK , with a £ 300 deduction for early razz that buy the phone from Honor directly . It ’s also said to be available on EE and Vodafone on contract bridge in the coming weeks .
The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold , on the other hand , costs £ 100 more in the UK at £ 1,799 , and unlike Honor , there are n’t any money - off deals to be had mightily now . It ’s available from several on-line retail merchant , and most UK carriers are stocking the folding too .
The Honor Magic V3 is thinner and lighter
When it comes to the overall design of the record book - style foldables , the Honor Magic V3 is the clean-cut success here .
honour ’s late foldable is not only thin than the Pixel 9 Pro Fold at 9.9 mm and 10.5 mm severally , but it ’s actually the thinnest and lightest foldable on the marketplace overall correctly now – and that ’ll make a big difference to everyday use , make it easier to withstand and expend , even one - handed , while also slip into pockets that little bit easier than Google ’s option .
It take a crap all the difference in daily enjoyment too , with our reviewer notice that , for the first few days , he ’d reach for the phone in his pocket and wear it was a regular candybar phone . We ’ve yet to say that about any other foldable .
That ’s further complemented by the phone ’s curved edges and rounded corners . Yes , it might not seem as silklike and modern as some flat - edged alternatives – including the Pixel – but it does improve the in - hand spirit .
That ’s not to say that the Pixel 9 Pro Fold look unappealing ; we ’re immense fans of the redesigned face of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold bring it in line with the rest of the Pixel 9 solicitation , complete with the matt edges that seem to be all the cult on smartphones aright now , along with a redesigned camera housing and a much - improved aspect ratio compare to the short and squat Pixel Fold .
It ’s also thin and faint in its own respect compare to much of the foldaway contest – it ’s just not quite as slender and light as what you ’ll get from Honor ’s alternative .
The Honor Magic V3 has a much less noticeable crease
The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold has had a complete refresh of its sieve apparatus , swop its brusk , squat displays for something not too dissimilar to the OnePlus Open , sporting a 6.3 - inch back filmdom and an 8.03 - in internal screen that ’s one of the largest around , even compared to the Honor Magic V3 .
It ’s a somewhat solidly specced internal display too , with key feature including an LTPO - enabled 120Hz refresh rate , 2 K resolution and peak brightness of 2700nits , but when we go manus - on , we gain it had a fully grown problem ; the flexure . Our reviewer take down that “ Google , like Samsung , has n’t oversee to follow the lead of Xiaomi and OnePlus in eliminate the visible fold that course down the middle of the silver screen ” .
The Honor Magic V3 , does n’t have the same trouble whatsoever . There is still a creese on the 7.92 - inch OLED control panel because , you screw , physics , but at just 78um mysterious , it ’s one of the shallowest creases we ’ve seen to day of the month . It ’s promiscuous to miss it when looking flat on , and it ’s only middling seeable when looking from extreme angles .
It ’s a huge whole tone ahead for foldaway technical school , especially when it ’s equally as tech - packed as the Pro Pixel , sporting a 120Hz LTPO refresh rate and a whopping 5000nits peak brightness . Our reviewer palpate the display was “ a joy ” not only for using big - screen apps , but for rip - screen multitasking and reading via the Kindle app in particular .
The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold has more advanced AI smarts
One of the main rationality to opt for the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold is its AI smarts .
Pixels have always been AI - infused , but the Pixel 9 accumulation takes that up a notch with features like on - machine support for Google Gemini , a new feature that ’ll let you seek for information in screenshots dub Pixel Screenshots , image generation from Pixel Studio and much , much more .
While we ’ve not spend enough prison term with the Pro Fold specifically to annotate on its AI prowess , its offering matches thePixel 9 Pro XL , which we have reviewed extensively .
We praised the AI capability of the phone , stating that it has a much more holistic approach to AI than much of the competition , permeating practically every aspect of the phone experience . It ’s the handiest implementation we ’ve control so far , and we ’re wait the exact same from the Pro Fold .
The Honor Magic V3 does have competing AI smart , primarily in the sort of Honor ’s intention - establish Magic Portal . The estimate is unproblematic ; you could drag elements like addresses into apps like Google Maps and get the telephone set to automatically search for the locating , or look for for an image of a product on eBay , and it work with 150 apps at the prison term of writing .
That ’s complemented by a clear smattering of AI features that let you remove issue from image , and it can transcribe audio recordings too . However , our reviewer mention that it ca n’t really contend with the more in advance offering from the competition , including not only Google but Samsung , which offer a panoptic kitchen stove of AI capabilities .
The Honor Magic V3 has a bigger battery and faster charging
assault and battery life is an arena in which foldables have typically struggled , mainly because it ’s difficult to fit a large stamp battery into a fold chassis . That entail that , while most smartphones offer something near to 5000mAh , foldables are ordinarily left somewhere between 3500 and 4500mAh . That ’s dependable of much every Samsung foldaway , as well as the OnePlus Open .
However , despite its sparse dimension , Honor has managed to buck this trend with a 5150mAh atomic number 14 - carbon bombardment that our reviewer found could last all day without much exit , with around seven time of day of screen door - on clip before the phone needed a top - up . Even that ’s a pretty speedy cognitive operation with 66W wired institutionalise support , getting a full burster in 59 arcminute in our testing , and 50W wireless charging is also available .
The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold , on the other hand , cavort a more or less low 4650mAh battery that ’s more in product line with the vast majority of the foldable solicitation . We ’re yet to extensively test the battery life artistry of the Pro Fold , but we ca n’t see it outlasting Honor ’s foldable . It ’s also much slower to charge with 21W wire charging and 8W wireless charging .
The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold has better long-term support
foresighted - full term software support on Android has steadily improved over the past five year or so , with even mid - range smartphones getting multiple OS upgrades and multi - year security measures patch support , but it was Google that really agitate the sauceboat out with its extended seven atomic number 76 upgrade .
It was first undulate out on the Pixel 8 range , but it ’s also true of the Pixel 9 collection , meaning it ’ll continue to get updates until Android 21 . That ’s jibe only by Samsung , with most other manufacturers stick around the 3 - 5 year mark .
Honor is one of the manufacturer that diminish into the latter category . Do n’t get me incorrect , a guaranteed four OS upgrades and five twelvemonth of security measure patches is passably solid , escort the Brobdingnagian majority of exploiter through the living of their phones , but it does n’t offer quite the same appeal as the Pixel 9 Pro Fold does for true long - terminus use .
Early Verdict
While we ’re not yet quick to bear our last finding of fact on which foldable is better , early impressions suggest that the Honor Magic V3 could have the edge – when it comes to foldable ironware , anyway . It ’s thinner , weak , and has a less visible crease , as well as a larger electric battery and immediate charging provision than Google ’s alternative .
However , there ’s still a lot to like about the Pixel 9 Pro Fold , especially in the computer software department . That includes a holistic approach to AI that ’s among the most capable we ’ve seen to date , and though we ’re yet to try out the AI - power camera prowess , we ’re quietly positive of its ability there too .
