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The foldable smartphone competition is heating up.
The Honor Magic V5 will be arriving in SA in October. Picture: Honor
The foldable smartphone competition is heating up with Honor announcing that it will be bringing its Honor Magic V5 to the country.
The much-anticipated device is expected to land on South African shores in October in another twist in the battle to get a bigger slice of the foldable market.
The announcement comes after Samsung unveiled its Galaxy Z Fold 7 last week. Huawei also has the Mate X6 and the triple-fold Mate XT, which is available in South Africa.
Aesthetics
Mark Lei, MD of Honor South Africa, told The Citizen at a roundtable discussion on Thursday that it has set the trend with thinner foldable devices.
Lei said that while it has made the thinnest foldable smartphones, it doesn’t want to compromise on other aesthetics.
“Until today, not only Honor, but also our competitors they are similar with us. Whether you must be the thinnest, I don’t know, I didn’t ask HQ, because thinnest doesn’t really mean anything. It’s easy for marketing.
“But more importantly than that, if you make it thinner, what else would you compromise because of that, that’s the most important thing,” Lei said.
The foldable smartphone competition is heating up with Honor announcing that it will be bringing its Honor Magic V5 to South Africa. Mark Lei, Managing Director of Honor South Africa speaks about the phone being very thin. #HonorMagicV5 @HonorAfrica @TheCitizen_News pic.twitter.com/uzfnpLEowh
— 𝙵𝚊𝚒𝚣𝚎𝚕 𝙿𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚕 ⚡️ (@FaizelPatel143) July 17, 2025
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Battery
Honor will launch the Magic V5 with a 5 820mAh battery, which is more powerful than what is packed in the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 (4 400mAh).
The company has used 15% silicon content to build this material and ensure more power in a lightweight design.
Specs
Colour and pricing
When pressed for South African pricing, Lei did not budge, saying Honour will share the recommended retail price (RRP) closer to the October date.
However, Lei did say that the Magic V5 is expected to retail for less than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 (512 GB), which sells for R45 999.
As for colour options that will be coming to South Africa, Lei said the Dawn Gold hero colourway will be made available, with Ivory White being another potential colour option to land in the country.
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