Foldable phones have been promising to change everything for half a decade. And yet here we are, in 2025, still being told to get excited about slightly thinner designs, slightly stronger hinges and slightly faster refresh rates — as if those things solve any of the real problems.
In South Africa, the foldable conversation has changed. It’s no longer about flexing on your friends. It’s about surviving your day without babysitting your battery or rebooting your phone when the dual SIM setup throws a tantrum.
And while most foldables still look like they were designed for people who live inside launch videos, the HONOR Magic V5 is one of the few that actually feels like it belongs in the real world.
The foldable honeymoon is over
The big players keep pushing the same formula: launch a phone that folds, slap a buzzword on it (FlexHinge, anyone?), and call it innovation. But people aren’t stupid — especially not here. South Africans want devices that work across two SIMs, don’t melt in the sun, last through loadshedding, and let them use Google services without jumping through hoops.
What we don’t want? Phones that:
- Fold impressively, but break after six months
- Need to be charged twice a day
- Only support one SIM, or one-and-a-half if you count eSIMs
- Lock you into an ecosystem that doesn’t understand how we use our phones
The HONOR Magic V5 doesn’t try to dazzle you with folding tricks. Instead, it quietly fixes the stuff that actually matters.
What HONOR gets right (and the others still don’t)
Here’s what sets the Magic V5 apart — and no, it’s not just the thickness (though at 6.43mm, it is incredibly slim when unfolded):
- A 5,820mAh battery, which isn’t just “all-day” — it’s all loadshedding stages and beyond
- Dual nano-SIM support, because one SIM is a luxury, not a reality
- An AMOLED display with anti-glare coating, because we live under real skies, not studio lights
- A reinforced titanium hinge that doesn’t creak under pressure
- IP58 and IP59 dust and water resistance, because your bag isn’t lined with velvet
- And crucially, full Google-native app support — because locking people into a broken ecosystem in 2025 is just lazy
There’s also Magic Portal 2.0, Honor’s context-aware gesture system that works across Android, iOS, and MacOS. It’s not a headline feature, but it is the kind of small smart touch that starts to make a foldable feel worth its price.
Foldables aren’t dead, but they’re on probation
Here’s the truth: most people who’ve tried a foldable have gone back to a regular slab within a year. Why? Because foldables still ask users to compromise. They want you to be okay with fragile designs, clunky multitasking and awkward typing — all in the name of “innovation”.
The Magic V5 isn’t perfect. Its camera isn’t class-leading, and the software still has some quirks. But it doesn’t make you jump through hoops to enjoy the benefits of the form factor. It just works.
And in a market where people care more about endurance and adaptability than launch spectacle, that’s a big deal. Foldables can’t afford to be high-maintenance anymore.
What we actually need from foldables in 2025
South African users are multitasking across languages, networks and lives — often all before lunchtime. We switch between business and family WhatsApps. We shoot content, check bank apps, and watch Netflix in the queue at Home Affairs.
The future of foldables isn’t about how cool they look when you unfold them. It’s about how little they get in your way.
HONOR seems to understand this. CEO Fred Zhou says it best: “A phone should adapt to your life, not the other way around.” It’s the kind of thing execs love to say — but for once, it doesn’t feel like marketing spin.
Verdict: not revolutionary, just refreshing
The Magic V5 isn’t trying to reinvent the smartphone. It’s just trying to be the one that works — with two SIMs, in actual sun, through actual daily chaos, without sacrificing basics like battery or usability. And that might just be the most revolutionary thing a foldable can do right now.
Is it going to make you feel like Iron Man? No.
Will it survive your week in Gauteng? Probably, yes.
That’s not magic. That’s just good design — finally.