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HONOR showed off two devices at IFA 2023, the HONOR Magic V2 and the HONOR V Purse. The first one is the company’s latest book-style flagship, which was initially launched in China. The second, however, is a concept smartphone, that is rather interesting. We managed to get some hands-on time with the HONOR V Purse in Berlin. In this article, we’ll talk a bit about it.
We managed to get some hands-on time with the HONOR V Purse, kind of
Before we get down to it, do note that the software on the phone was not ready, so we did not get a chance to use it. The only thing that worked is one of the AOD styles that the company is using.
Now, the HONOR V Purse is a concept smartphone. This is a foldable phone that essentially turns into a purse. Initially, I thought that the purse strap attaches to the hinge directly, but it doesn’t, there’s a case that has to be attached to the hinge, basically. That’s something you’ll see in the images below.
HONOR presented quite a few styles of straps that can be used here. They range from the ones that contain pearls and feathers, to the ones with chains, and so on. The styles can be changed on the fly, with ease. This was a fashion-forward launch event, by the way, otherwise a product like this would be quite shocking.
This is an outwards-folding smartphone that resembles the Huawei Mate Xs 2
Now that we got that out of the way, the HONOR V Purse is an outwards-folding smartphone, much like the Huawei Mate Xs 2. It actually does resemble that phone to a degree. There is a button on the back that unlocks the phone, at which point you can unfold it.
When folded, part of its foldable display is exposed on the back, when unfolded, the entire display is on the front, of course. This is a completely different approach to book-style foldables.
It is worth noting that the HONOR V Purse is actually the thinnest foldable smartphone out there. It is even thinner than the Magic V2, which is not surprising, as it has only one display, unlike the Magic V2. The difference is not that big, though. Also, this phone is just a concept for now, so the Magic V2 is technically the thinnest foldable still.
It has two cameras on the back, and it sits nicely in the hand
The HONOR V Purse has two cameras on the back, and it sits nicely in the hand. As I said, we were not allowed to use it, and that includes unfolding it. I’d assume that the feeling is similar to what we got with the Huawei Mate Xs 2, which is not a bad thing at all. You can check out that review here.
You’ll find quite a few images of this phone in the gallery below. Now, if you’re wondering if it’s coming to market, that’s something we cannot answer, not yet. HONOR did refer to it as a concept smartphone, but considering how many different styles of straps they showed off, and the fact they mentioned they’d invite third-party designers to design AOD displays for this phone… chances are it’s coming.
Its specs & price tag are a mystery at the moment… presuming HONOR will release it at some point
We don’t know absolutely anything about its specifications, nor its price tag, though. That is something HONOR will share with us at a later date, presuming that this phone will hit the market at some point. For now, it’s just a showpiece that managed to grab attention at IFA 2023 in Berlin, and we gave it one of our IFA 2023 awards.
Event & booth pictures:
Hands-on pictures:
