How Does The Galaxy Z Fold 6 Stack Up Against The Honor Magic V3?
The two latest book-style foldables go against each other, pulling no punches. Below is a quick summary of how the devices stack against one another.
| Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 | Honor Magic V3 | |
| Main Display | 7.6-inch AMOLED, 2160 x 1856 (374ppi), 120Hz LTPO, 2,600-nit peak brightness | 7.92-inch OLED, 2344 x 2156 (402ppi), 120Hz LTPO, 1,800-nit peak brightness |
| Cover Display | 6.3-inch AMOLED, 2376 x 968 (410ppi), 120Hz LTPO | 6.43-inch OLED, 1060 x 2376 (402ppi), 120Hz LTPO |
| Dimensions | Folded: 68.1 x 153.5 x 12.1mm Unfolded: 132.6 x 153.5 x 5.6mm |
Folded: 74.0 x 156.6 x 4.35mm Unfolded: 145.3 x 156.6 x 9.2mm |
| Weight | 239g | 226g |
| Rear Camera | 50MP f/1.8 Wide with Dual Pixel AF, OIS + 12MP f/2.2 Ultrawide with 123° FOV + 10MP f/2.4 3x Telephoto with PDAF, OIS | 50MP f/1.6 Wide with PDAF, OIS + 40MP f/2.2 Ultrawide with 123° FOV + 50MP f/3.0 3.5x Telephoto with PDAF, OIS |
| Selfie Camera(s) | Cover Camera: 10MP f/2.2 Under Display Camera: 4MP f/1.8 |
Cover Camera: 20MP f/2.2 Inner Camera: 20MP f/2.2 |
| Processor | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 |
| Memory | 12GB | 12GB (256GB only), 16GB |
| Storage | 256GB/512GB/1TB | 256GB/512GB/1TB |
| Battery and Charging | 4,400mAh, 25W wired charging, 15W wireless charging | 5,150mAh, 66W wired charging, 50W wireless charging |
| Weather Resistance | IP48 | IPX8 |
| OS | Android 14, One UI 6.1.1 | Android 14, MagicOS 8.0.1 |
| Connectivity | 5G, LTE, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth v5.3, USB Type-C 3.2 | 5G, LTE, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth v5.3, USB Type-C 3.1 |
| Colors | Silver Shadow, Pink, Navy Samsung.com Exclusive: Crafted Black, White |
Black, White, Green, Red |
| Price | $1,899 | CNY 8,999 (~$1,240) |
The Designs
These two smartphones are as distinct as they come. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 goes for a more modern design with flat edges and surfaces, and sharp corners. I’ll say that it looks a lot more “futuristic” than the Honor Magic V3 does, with its curvier design. Which one you prefer is a matter of taste, but I think they both look great because I have a hard time picking a favorite.
When it comes to the dimensions and weight, the Honor phone is the clear winner though. It measures just 9.2mm thin when closed, compared to the 12.1mm for the Samsung, and it also weighs a 13g lighter, at just 226 grams. It also has IPX8 water resistance, though technically speaking, the Samsung beats it out with IP48.
The Screens
When it comes to the displays on both of these smartphones, it’s tightly contested, especially when looking at the main displays. Both have 120Hz LTPO AMOLED displays, though the Magic V3 is bigger at 7.92 inches and the Z Fold 6 manages 7.6 inches.
However, even with a bigger display, the Magic V3 has a higher resolution for a 204ppi pixel density; compared to 374 for the Samsung. The Z Fold 6 does have a brighter screen though, with 2,600-nit peak brightness, which significantly beats the Magic V3’s 1,800 nits.
Things aren’t much easier to compare when it comes to the cover displays. The Magic V3 has a bigger 6.43-inch unit while the Samsung’s is 6.3 inches. Both are LTPO 120Hz OLED panels, though the Z Fold 6 has a minimally better resolution, making for a 410ppi pixel density as opposed to 402ppi. Generally speaking, there’s not much nitpicking to be done here, unless you absolutely need either bigger screens (Magic V3) or a brighter screen (Z Fold 6).
The Chipsets And Memory
Both phones run on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, though slightly different variants. The Honor Magic V3 gets the regular kind, but the Z Fold 6 gets the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy, which is clocked slightly higher on the primary Cortex-X4 core, for a clock speed of 3.39GHz as opposed to 3.0GHz on the vanilla Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. However, all other cores on the Z Fold 6’s chip are clocked slightly lower.
Both phones offer 12GB of RAM, though the Magic V3 only settles for that on the 256GB model. For all others, it pushes up to 16GB. Both devices are available in 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB variants.
The Batteries And Charging
When it comes to batteries and charging, it’s not much of a battle here. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 has a 4,400 mAh cell with 25W of wired charging and 15W wirelessly. However, the Magic V3 has a 5,150 mAh battery despite though its slender figure, and it supports 66W wired charging and 50W wireless charging.
The Cameras
Cameras are tough to compare on paper, but if we have to compare them on paper, the Magic V3 takes it here. First off, let’s start with the selfie cameras. It uses identical 20MP units on the cover display and on the main display, while the Z Fold 6 decides to settle for 10MP on the cover display and go experimental with the 4MP under-display camera inside.
Both devices use a 50MP primary sensor with PDAF and OIS. The Honor’s 50MP telephoto has 3.5x optical zoom but the Z Fold 6’s 10MP has 3x optical zoom. The higher resolution will certainly help the Honor out with digital zoom too. There’s a 40MP ultrawide on the Magic V3 up against the 12MP sensor on the Z Fold 6. It’s a bit of an easy win for Honor here, at least, on paper.
The Pricing, Availability, And Which One Should You Get?
The Z Fold 6 is $100 more expensive than its predecessor, so it costs $1,899 in the United States, and it is available globally. For now, the Magic V3 is only available in China, which is a major disadvantage, though a global launch is bound to come. It costs CNY 8,999, for an equivalent of $1,240.
That’s a huge chasm in terms of price, especially considering the Magic V3 either ties or beats the Samsung model in all categories. The only thing is, it’ll be very hard to get your hands on one for now. If you’re ready to go through the trouble of getting it shipped to you, you’re probably still going to save money compared to the Z Fold 6, considering that nearly $700 difference. For me, the Magic V3 is the easy winner here.
