Slion 1,201 Posted March 7 Share Posted March 7 (edited) Just putting this thread up to discuss that HONOR Magic V2 foldable phone. I got mine from their Hi HONOR web site around the time they launched it in Germany, end of January 2024. It was about €1600 with charger, HONOR Watch 4 and extra bumper case. So far I'm really happy with it, though much like the Pro¹ it looks like I'll have to build my own bookcase for it. Sold the watch on eBay for €70, a lot of people doing the same apparently, never opened the box, it's not running Wear OS Android and saw no reason to keep it since I already use Garmin watches. While I went for the HONOR variant it's worth noting that the current generation of Chinese designed foldables have a lot in common with one another. So much so that I believe they all share the same basic mechanical design, hinge and screen sizes and differ by the main camera modules, internal screen camera placement, shape and design of the frame, round or sharp edges. That includes: HONOR Magic V2 HUAWEI Mate X3 - Probably no Google apps OnePlus Open Oppo Find N3 I believe they all have some of the core features I was looking for too: Dual physical SIM Fingerprint reader IR blaster Smart case support Normal front display aspect ratio Thin and lightweight While the HONOR does not have an IP dust and water resistance rating I think some of those do have one. Though I doubt one would be much more resistent than the others certainly more an issue of going through the rating validation and attached costs. Still I would not bring my foldable to the beach. HONOR and HUAWEI probably have the quirkiest OS without support for Monet theme and super aggressive power management. I'm guessing I would actually like the OS from OnePlus and Oppo better. Never tried them though. @Rob. S. Did you get yours already? Edited March 8 by Slion Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CornholioGSM 338 Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 Hmmm just another phone with problematic foldable display 😞 Samsung and Motorola (lenovo) make phones with these displays for maybe 4 years...and still same problems 😞 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Slion 1,201 Posted March 8 Author Share Posted March 8 @CornholioGSMWhat's the problem with it? Works really well here. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CornholioGSM 338 Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 (edited) 1 hour ago, Slion said: @CornholioGSMWhat's the problem with it? Works really well here. foldable displays have cracking problems...lines on display etc ;( These phones are too pricey for its quality...and displazy change is really expensive. For example display for fold 5 cost me around $550. Edited March 8 by CornholioGSM 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Slion 1,201 Posted March 8 Author Share Posted March 8 8 minutes ago, CornholioGSM said: foldable displays have cracking problems...lines on display etc ;( A friend of mine has been using one of the first Samsung Fold and it is still going strong after 3 or 4 years. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Slion 1,201 Posted March 8 Author Share Posted March 8 10 minutes ago, CornholioGSM said: These phones are too pricey for its quality...and displazy change is really expensive. For example display for fold 5 cost me around $550. I see, so you had a bad experience yourself, sorry to hear that. Surely your Fold 5 should still be under warranty. But yes, if you break an expensive phone it is hard to digest. I'm hopeful it won't happen to me. The last phone I broke was a Nokia 9210 Communicator. That was about 20 years ago. Split in two after I slammed a car door on it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CornholioGSM 338 Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 1 hour ago, Slion said: I see, so you had a bad experience yourself, sorry to hear that. Surely your Fold 5 should still be under warranty. But yes, if you break an expensive phone it is hard to digest. I'm hopeful it won't happen to me. The last phone I broke was a Nokia 9210 Communicator. That was about 20 years ago. Split in two after I slammed a car door on it. nono...it is not my fold. I am service. $550 was my purchase price for me 🙂 Then is needed to add some $ for work for customer. Ok your 9210 was mechanically damaged...but foldable phones can be damaged with classic using. Thats difference. I hope, that your magic2 is madded better than others 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rob. S. 1,660 Posted March 9 Share Posted March 9 (edited) For what it's worth, the manufacturer says the display is good for 400,000 folding actions... First impressions of the Magic V2 are good. It even replaces the Android tablet I used for some time before it broke. The one feature that makes it an alternative for a slider keyboard phone is that the on-screen keyboard still leaves more than enough screen real estate for whatever app I'm using. I'm trying "Hacker's Keyboard" again right now which used to be what I used when I didn't have a physical keyboard, and while it is quite old-fashioned and restricted in its features compared to, say, SwiftKey, is has all the ctrl and alt keys I like to have when I'm typing in a terminal. I'm not sure though whether I'll stay with it... Edited July 19 by Rob. S. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Slion 1,201 Posted March 9 Author Share Posted March 9 (edited) I thought Hacker's keyboard was not being maintained. I found Unexpected keyboard interesting too. Which variant did you get? Purple glass or black PU? I would have liked better black glass but it was not an option sadly. The PU is already rather dirty and not looking so good even though I used a case. I'm busy glueing together my custom smart leather bookcase. Should be ready in the morning. Edited March 9 by Slion 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rob. S. 1,660 Posted March 9 Share Posted March 9 (edited) Yeah, I fear Hacker's keyboard is more or less abandoned, but it still works... I'll have a look at Unexpected keyboard, looks interesting. I thought by choosing "purple" I had bought the purple glass version of the phone, which I wanted because I didn't like the faux leather looks of the black one. Turned out I didn't get purple glass but purple PU – which is even better, as it doesn't add thickness or weight like the glass one does. It's a silky smooth surface not at all prone to attract dirt. That said, knowing my luck in handling expensive handsets, I'm using the phone with the included case (purple with some kind of faux leather texture), anyway, until I find something better... Edited March 9 by Rob. S. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Slion 1,201 Posted March 9 Author Share Posted March 9 It's the creases in the faux PU leather that get dirty. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Slion 1,201 Posted March 9 Author Share Posted March 9 (edited) Been using that case. It's ok if you like PU but I find transparent shells ugly. I also got a couple of plain dark shells for just a few euros each but they are not selling them anymore. Planing to use them for my custom case. Edited March 9 by Slion Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Slion 1,201 Posted March 10 Author Share Posted March 10 (edited) Smart custom case is now complete after drying overnight. Here are some screenshots next to F(x)tec Pro¹. It's using the same design as this other case with the folding front edge so that it can be used as support when unfolded. Seems to be working just fine so far. However I may make one based on the original Honor case with kick stand and hinge protection. I'll need to up my leather cutting game though. Screenshots are showing an unreleased version of Fulguris with improved foldable support. It is notably enabling rendering around cut-outs and support for specific configurations, inner screen ones for instance. Edited March 10 by Slion 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rob. S. 1,660 Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 I have no luck with smartphones... My Magic V2 has developed black spots in two of the the large screen's corners, I am in contact with support and now in the process of backing up before resetting the phone. Reverted to the Titan Slim that I already had had plans to put on ebay, given that it's still in good cosmetic shape – good that I didn't. Slightly surprised to find that the Titan's limited physical keyboard (which I had a lot of complaints about while I was using it) immediately feels a lot better than the Honor's on-screen keyboard... 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jakfish 133 Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 Very sorry to hear that. By now, you'd think the gods of fair play would've given you a working phone you actually wanted. 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Slion 1,201 Posted August 1 Author Share Posted August 1 (edited) 6 months in my V2 is working great so far 🤞🏼 Do you have pictures of your defect? Edited August 1 by Slion Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rob. S. 1,660 Posted August 5 Share Posted August 5 (edited) They promise defect analysis (including the decision whether it's covered by warranty) within ten days after receiving the device, so I hope to get more information by the end of the week... Edited August 5 by Rob. S. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rob. S. 1,660 Posted August 22 Share Posted August 22 I was wrong about the ten days – it's "usually ten days for repair", after checking the device and deciding whether it's on warranty or not. Haven't heard back from them yet, after close to a month now (they received it on July 25), and I just sent the the repair service an e-mail... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rob. S. 1,660 Posted September 26 Share Posted September 26 That turned out well – they decided it was a warranty case and I got it back on Monday, repaired, like new, after about a month. I'm already missing the physical keys again, though. Still, compared to the Titan Slim, the big screen makes a huge difference. Because of that, it's much more than just a phone... 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jakfish 133 Posted October 21 Share Posted October 21 @Rob. S. Things holding steady for you, repair-wise? Couldn't swing the price of a Magic V2, so I took delivery of a refurbed Galaxy Fold 3 last week. Fold veterans talked me out of the Fold 4, given its hinge issues, but Fold 3 is mint and I've set it up more or less to replace the Pro1x (the Fold 3, surprisingly, makes successful phone calls and things like that). The hinge feels rugged enough and the screen crease is almost unnoticeable indoors. That said, the hinge does clamp tight when phone is folded so care is necessary when opening to make sure the Fold doesn't spring out of your hands.. If I were at a bar with fx users, I would readily pass it around for inspection because folks here appreciate fragility, but I do keep the Fold at arm's length from people like my lovely wife who must drop her slab S6 about 5 times a day. On-screen kbs continue to drive me mad, even when the Fold is in laptop mode (TextMaker doc on upper screen, full kb on lower screen). Hacker's kb is still the best I've found, but its text prediction no longer works in later Android version and my lousy typing really needs prediction. Can't get the installed Unexpected kb to come up as a kb choice and can't figure out why. @Rob. S. -- I see that you've have Alt and Ctrl keys working on SwiftKey; I can't find them. Also, does SwiftKey have a Tab key? As one might assume, I'm trying to recreate a PC-like physical kb as much as I can, with mixed results at best. That said, the Fold 3 is peppy, with a boatload of storage, and due for Android 15 and 2 more years of security updates. There's no doubt though that the form factor still feels beta and I treat it accordingly and gingerly. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rob. S. 1,660 Posted October 23 Share Posted October 23 On 10/21/2024 at 9:22 PM, jakfish said: I see that you've have Alt and Ctrl keys working on SwiftKey; I can't find them. Also, does SwiftKey have a Tab key? Actually I've mostly been using Gboard since I got the phone back. Neither Gboard nor Swiftkey has control keys as far as I can see, though. Thankfully, apps like Termux add their own control key functionality, but that obviously doesn't help with normal text input in e-mail or web browsers. Which is why I've started to try Hacker's keyboard again, but that has other limitations I'm not sure I want to put up with after having used Swiftkey and the current version of Gboard... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jakfish 133 Posted October 24 Share Posted October 24 Yeah, I've gone back to Hacker's as well for landscape word processing. For texting (I text as little as possible) and anything else using the F3's narrow front screen, I use Samsung's stock kb; it has the largest keys. One interesting fail is Samsung's Key Cafe. Ostensibly, you can add keys (i.e. Tab) and rearrange any desired keys. The only trouble is, it doesn't work. The Tab key merely jumps to the next clickable rather than insert a genuine tab. I sideloaded Unexpected Keyboard, which has the keys I want except for text prediction. Layout still not as PC-like as Hacker's. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rob. S. 1,660 Posted October 24 Share Posted October 24 (edited) Samsung's own apps not working properly? Bummer... Oh, and thanks for reminding me of Unexpected Keyboard, I still need to try it out properly but haven't reinstalled it as of now... Regarding the price of the Magic V2, it looks like I should have waited a bit longer. Now that the V3 has come out (which has, by the way, the few things the V2 was still lacking, like wireless charging or a proper telephoto camera), new V2s can be found for not much above 1,000 € (which still is more money than I ever wanted to part with for a phone, but I already said something like that when I ordered a Pro 1 back in 2019...). Edited October 24 by Rob. S. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jakfish 133 Posted October 25 Share Posted October 25 https://9to5google.com/2024/10/24/this-1000-foldable-is-far-better-than-i-ever-anticipated/ Despite the lower price, I was un-thrilled. I can't wrap my mind around $1000+ for any phone, which is why I'm always using something 3-years-old. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rob. S. 1,660 Posted October 27 Share Posted October 27 I'm totally with you. Until Fxtec's Pro1 came along, my limit was more like $500. Even if I like the Honor, I don't expect to pay that much for what effectively is just a phone any time soon. Let's hope it will last a few years. At least they promised Android upgrades for 4 years and security updates for 5 years... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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