If you’re a smartphone enthusiast, you probably know the Honor story by now. A Huawei sub-brand, Honor was considered guilty by association and forced to abide by the restrictions placed on Huawei by the U.S. These restrictions prevent Huawei from obtaining supplies from its U.S. supply chain (which forced the company to develop its own successful ecosystem), and cutting-edge (read 5G) chips from certain foundries.
Honor was the fastest-growing shipper of 5G phones worldwide during the third quarter
If you believe the story, and there is no reason to think otherwise, Huawei brass wanted to get Honor out from under the big thumb of the U.S., so it sold the company to a consortium for approximately $15 billion. Earlier this year, Honor started using Google Mobile Services (GMS) and 5G Snapdragon chips on its new models.
Honor releases a teaser for the January 10th unveiling of its first foldable
With momentum on its side, Honor had the biggest growth rate in 5G phone shipments worldwide during the third quarter with a sequential quarter-over-quarter gain of 194%. And sometime this month, the company is expected to unveil its first foldable phone which it calls the Honor Magic V.
Honor CEO George Zhao gave an interview to the Phoenix Network, a China-based media outlet. During the interview, which was recorded on video, the executive had an open Magic V in front of him. Because the screen is dark, it is likely that the phone in the video is a prototype.
At the end of the video, Zhao closes the phone as one would close a book confirming its resemblance to the Galaxy Z Fold 3. Today, Honor announced that the Magic V will be unveiled on January 10th.
The Magic V is believed to be the first foldable powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset
When the phone is fully open, it reveals a large tablet-sized display believed to be 8-inches with a resolution of 2200 x 2480, a refresh rate of 120Hz, and a hole-punch camera in the upper right corner. The Magic V could be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset which is built by Samsung using its 4nm process node. The phone will support 5G connectivity.
The foldable is expected to come with a 50MP primary camera and the battery will charge at 66W. Android 12 might be pre-installed. Honor has released a new teaser for the device which shows off in detail the design of the phone.
