MANILA - Gaming phones usually pack large displays and good refresh rates. But if you want to blend gaming with style, a foldable phone like Honor Magic V2 does the trick. 

Although priced at P79,995 and more expensive than gaming-dedicated phones available on the market, Honor Magic V2 deserves its flowers for having the sleek build gaming phones lack, The larger, unfolded screen also packs so much potential for mobile gamers who appreciate larger, tablet-like gameplay.

REVIEW: The Honor Magic V2 takes foldable phones to the next level

For this review, I decided to focus on the phone's functionality while testing out the following games: Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, PlayersUnknown Battlegrounds, and the rhythm game Superstar SMTown. 

Like a lot of Android-carrying phone brands, Honor's phones carry a Game Manager tool that enables players to optimize gameplay, screen record, add filters, and shut out disruptive notifications while playing.

However there doesn't seem to be an option where you can access Discord through the platform, as compared to Xiaomi's Game Mode. A workaround to this though is using the phone's own multitasking option to enable PIP mode.

The unfolded screen of Honor Magic V2. AC Coloma, ABS-CBN News

The screen for the multi-tasking gamer

As a flagship phone, Honor Magic V2 supports functionality the way it's supposed to, carrying the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, large enough to carry all the best games in the market right now. 

The multitasking function extends to gaming and not just productivity, thanks to its large unfolded screen. Thanks to this, I'm able to talk to my friends on Discord video call while playing Honkai Star Rail-- a thing I'd normally do on my personal computer. 

One of the game's key features is the auto-battle option where you could just leave your characters to farm for materials for your characters. The large display allows me to see what I'm farming for while seeing the faces of my friends as we catch up and tell each other about our days.

Gameplay while streaming. AC Coloma, ABS-CBN News

It also works pretty well when streaming the game. I started my streaming roots with Genshin Impact Mobile and I could definitely say that the game works smoothly on the V2 even if I have a lot of comments from viewers popping out of the screen. The larger screen may be more appreciated though if mobile open-world games were keen on supporting cheaper controllers. 

(And if you're looking for something similar to - well - the Nintendo Switch version of Genshin Impact that hasn't been released since its announcement in 2021 this might be a good workaround.)

Genshin Impact gameplay on Honor Magic V2 (AC Coloma, ABS-CBN News)

Graphics

Its OLED screens give games justice, I would say, thanks to the V2's own external and inner foldable OLED screens. Perhaps I was a bit surprised at how the unit worked splendidly on Genshin Impact. Even with the game on video settings, I could very much appreciate the forestry in Sumeru, probably even more than when I do with a PC. 

Genshin Impact on the Honor V2 supports controller mode, but controller support may vary. Having an original console controller, like that of the Xbox and the PlayStation may be a workaround.

Graphics-wise, Honkai Star Rail can run well on 60 frames per second and thanks to the large display, I'm able to appreciate the new planet Penacony's cityscapes more. Upon download of the resources, though, I could feel the device getting a bit hot to the touch, normally not really a good look if you're planning to spend hours on the game. 

Honor Magic V2 also supports PlayersUnknown BattleGrounds really well - folded or unfolded - and could run a whole game of the battle royale title smoothly. 

Another thing to note is that it supports two games at the same time, as I’m able to play both Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail simultaneously. While parallel display is supported, split screen display support, however, may vary on the gaming title and loading time may take a while.

Responsiveness: 

Alright, it may not be the most optimum title to test out but as someone who found it easier to play rhythm games with a larger screen, I just had to try this out on Superstar SMTown. Overall, the game responds pretty well to both normal and hard versions of some songs. 

For this review, I tried Day 1 and Birthday, both by Red Velvet and they turned out nice. 

On the flipside: 

While Honor V2 may be a revolutionary device in the folding phone department, there are a few things that gamers may need to be wary of. 

Some games may not be supported well enough on the larger unfolded screen.  But maybe this is something developers should also consider in the long run granting that foldable phones are becoming the rage.

If you're looking for that stylish feel, Honor V2 is a viable option. But if you're looking for a dedicated gaming phone, other options may be more economical. After all, the P79,990 price point is almost twice the price of other dedicated gaming phone models, despite it being a bit cheaper than other options in the folding phone market. 

What remains to be seen is how the screen fares out to wear and tear foldable smartphones usually suffer from. However, the creases aren't so visible as of late.