Chinese smartphone brand Honor’s foldable Magic V2 device will be available in SA next month.
Although it is a latecomer to SA’s foldables market, the phone manufacturer says it wants to gain ground in the local high-end market segment. It hopes its latest range will help increase its 7% market share in SA, and accelerate its postpaid segment, which currently sits at 18% market share.
In a statement, the company says the Honor Magic flagship range – the Magic V2 and Magic 6 Pro − will be officially launched next week in Johannesburg and will be made available for purchase in local retail stores from the first week of April.
While the company has not yet provided prices, it claims the Magic V2 will be “among the most affordable foldables” in SA.
The device addresses two major concerns among users of foldable phones: bulkiness and weight, it says. The inward foldable smartphone weighs 231g and measures 9.9mm thick when folded.
The phone features an ultra-thin dual silicon-carbon battery, averaging 2.72mm in thickness − the average size of a credit card, Honor says.
“We believe our strong focus on the typical pain points of foldable devices will result in the Magic V2 being well-received in South Africa, and in turn help to increase our market share,” said Fred Zhou, GM of Honor Technologies Africa, in an interview with ITWeb.
“Previous foldables are heavy, big and not easy to carry around, and their battery tends to consume energy at a faster rate. The Magic V2 has a 5 000mAh battery, which enables it to last the whole day.
“While I can’t release the price now, all I can say is that we will surprise the market with the price. It will be among the most affordable foldables in the market.”
The V2 features artificial intelligence technology and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 5G chipset with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.
It is expected to compete with Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 5, Oppo’s Find N2 Flip and Huawei’s Mate X3.
The V2 has garnered 50% of China’s foldable market, since launch in June, and comes to SA during a time when Honor is exploring the local high-end market, Zhou added.
In the past, the company had a strong focus on mid-range phones and imported a limited number of the premium price phone range. However, this year, it is shifting into a new gear, with plans to release an iteration of high-end devices, following the recent launch of the X9b 5G.
While South African consumers are known to be ‘price-sensitive’, the past two years have seen foldables selling increasingly well in SA, as more consumers are introduced to the foldables market.
“We know the economy is not doing good at the moment, but different customers have different needs when it comes to their phones.
“The two main reasons foldables are selling well locally, is that people prefer to watch their short videos and series, such as Netflix, on the bigger screens offered by foldables. Secondly, for work purposes, some people prefer to work on the foldable screen, for instance, and enjoy the convenience of doing a PowerPoint presentation using the innovative technologies these phones offer.”
The Magic V2’s specifications are available on the Honor website.
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