HONOR Magic V6 - Hard to Break. Even Harder to Beat

So if you haven't heard, HONOR has just teamed up with One NZ as its first New Zealand telco partner. 

This is fantastic news.

I mean, it's fantastic news for HONOR and for One NZ - but it's really fantastic news for you because the deals they're doing on HONOR's latest and greatest handsets are pretty juicy.

You may have been tempted to dip your toe into the world of foldable phones before now but been put off by some of the rather steep price-tags on such devices.

Well, now's the time to snag yourself one of the most beautifully finished foldables I've come across yet.

As is often the way from one year to the next, outwardly, the HONOR Magic V6 doesn't seem like a wild departure from 2025's Magic V5, which in itself, is no bad thing.

The V5 was (and still is) an astounding feat of engineering, living up to some unprecedented claims around durability and performance I hadn't seen from other folding phones at that time.

But a year is a long time in tech and if you want to stay ahead of the competition, you have to keep innovating, refining.

Although HONOR is less than a year old in New Zealand, the brand hasn't become one of the smartphone world's most successful by standing still.

I could sense something exciting was happening as I unboxed the Magic V6, although, I'm not going to lie - I was a little disappointed my review unit was black and not the red-with-gold-trim version I'd seen in all the PR shots. It comes in white as well and I have to admit, even the "boring" black model is quite striking with its iridescent, yet remarkably fingerprint-proof rear panel and distinctive, octagonal camera module.

There's also a matching snap-on case included in the box, with a matte, leather-feel surface and a flip-down stand that folds flush around the camera housing when not in use to protect it. It's a cunning yet simple design that means you can easily prop up the Magic V6 when streaming video or perhaps participating in a video chat.

The case is also slim - which is essential as the phone itself is also incredibly thin - just a whisker over 4mm when open. This makes it just barely thick enough to accommodate its USB-C charging port for fast wired charging at up to 80W. However, given the Magic V6 is capable of charging wirelessly at a phenomenal 66W, surely it's only a matter of time before HONOR gets rid of that pesky port altogether so they make the phone even thinner.

As a result, you'd think the Magic V6 would feel somewhat fragile. I mean, yes, you want this phone to bend - but only down the middle, right? Well, the complete opposite is true. There's nothing flimsy about this handset, folded or unfolded.

The outer 6.52-inch display is protected by HONOR's anti-scratch "NanoCrystal" shield. The inner 7.95-inch screen uses a layer of reinforced UTG (Ultra-Thin Glass) that's so tough, it's been tested to withstand over 500,000 folds. The Magic V6 has a 5-star SGS drop resistance and screen anti-impact rating but most significantly of all, it carries the IP68 and IP69 water and dust resistance certifications. I've never seen a foldable you can literally drop in the sink before. Well - not one you can leave in there for 30 minutes, then come back, fish it out and still expect it to be in working order.

This heralds an exciting new age for foldables. There have always been two key factors that would be major disincentives to spending the thousands being asked for a phone like this - from day one, durability has been a big concern and now it seems like the Magic V6 can stack up against pretty much any other flagship phone in the "I'm so tough, how tough are you?" department.

The second thing that puts a lot of people off is camera quality. Why would a power user spend over three grand on a phone that can't take the pictures a non-bendy flagship can?

It's certainly a weird compromise I've never understood. Well, today I have something very interesting to show you.

The trail of condensation left behind a jet plane flying at very high altitude, on a brilliantly fine winter's day. Ever wanted a closer look?...

So, there's the plane and what do you know? Not one contrail but two. Quite spectacular results at 100x zoom from the 64MP periscope telephoto lens. This has been teamed up with a 50MP wide primary shooter and a 50MP ultra-wide sensor to finally give users the true, flagship-level photography someone shelling out in this price-range deserves.

By the time you add the processing power of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile Platform chip and a truckload of onboard AI smarts, it's actually quite difficult to take a bad photo with this phone.

That applies to video as well, of course. You'll see me doing a bit of that out and about in the demo-vid below, as I shoot from both the primary camera and one of the two 20MP "front-facing" selfie-cams - although I can't remember which one; on the outer or inner screen? So many cameras.

And the great thing about the AI the Magic V6 has to offer is that it's there if you need it but easy enough to ignore if you don't. Beauty and bokeh settings for portraits aren't compulsory - but they're only the press of an on-screen icon away.

Then there are tools, as a very amateur photographer, I'd never even consider using to adjust lighting and exposure to get the most out of your shot - either as you take it or to edit it with after. This is a shot I snapped of my long-suffering best friend from across the room. As I lined it up, the Magic V6 gave me the option to enhance the lighting and clarity to mitigate the distance. I said, "Sure." I was only taking the picture as proof of life to send to Domestic Manager who was out while I was dog-sitting. She must have then shown the photo around because the next message back was, "Everyone wants to know what kind of phone this was taken with."

And of course, the cool thing about a phone like this, is you can show off your pretty puppy pics in all their glory, on that nice, big internal screen. Very nice, in fact; it can get wickedly bright - achieving 5000nits of peak brightness, with the outer display going up to 6000nits. And because HONOR has used something it calls 5600 Silicon Nitride Coating, both screens are unbelievably reflection-resistant, even in bright sunshine, reflecting just 1.5% of light. You can also use a stylus on either display, which will be music to any power user's ears.

I can't find a single reason not to love this phone. The challenge HONOR faces, given it hasn't even been in New Zealand a year yet, is convincing those power users a phone like the Magic V6 can genuinely stack up against other, more established brands. What I'm telling you today is not only does it stack up against other foldables, because of significant upgrades in durability and camera technology, it out-performs many other non-folding flagships too. Don't believe me? Get down to a One NZ store and try it out for yourself. I'm 100% confident you'll be as impressed as me.

    

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the HONOR Magic V6.

OPPO Reno 16 Pro and OPPO Bubble - Come for the Phone. Stay for the Whacky Accessory

There are two things I think of straight away when I hear the name OPPO; firstly, great camera phones. Secondly, fearless innovation.

For as long as I've been reviewing OPPO phones, they've always had a camera-first philosophy, frequently out-performing more "established" brands when it comes to photographic accomplishments.

On the innovation side of things, we often see OPPO releasing "concept devices" - unusual configurations of folding or rolling displays and of course, outside-the-box camera advances.

The first pop-up camera I ever saw was on an OPPO. And the first time I heard of a "periscope camera" - that was on an OPPO too.

So when I get the OPPO-tunity to review one of their new devices, I'm usually pretty keen. Even when that device isn't a phone. Or indeed, like any other device I've ever used...

OPPO's new Reno 16 range features a couple of extremely capable handsets that stack up very well against other options in their respective price ranges - NZ$1,199.00 for the more mid-tier Reno 16 F and NZ$1,799.00 for the fairly flagship Reno 16 Pro I'm reviewing here today.

I use the quantifier, "fairly" because strictly speaking, OPPO's Find range is supposed to be the flagship selection while the Renos are usually a step down, specs-wise.

However, the Reno 16 Pro certainly blurs that line with its scintillating 6.3-inch, Crystal Guard AMOLED display, capable of a 144Hz refresh rate (depending on the game you're playing), 512GB internal storage, 12GB of RAM and 6000mAh battery - one of the largest you'll find in a phone this compact.

As for the camera array, that deserves its own paragraph.

Not only do you get a whopping 50MP front-facing camera, capable of shooting selfie videos in 4K HDR, but the rear module teams a 50MP Ultra-Wide sensor with a 50MP telescopic lens that allows you to click off 3.5x optical zoom shots and up to 120x digitally. This is capped off with a 200MP main wide shooter that provides enough high-res clarity for you to edit and crop however you want without losing any of its stunning precision.

There are, of course, a host of AI-powered filters and effects, which can be applied before or after shooting.

Like I always say, when OPPO makes a phone, they really make a camera with a phone attached.

But what if you could attach an extra screen as well?

With the advent and swift evolution of the folding phone in recent years, the ability to take selfies or to record and stream selfie videos using the primary camera array has become common practice. All folding phones (and OPPO's own Find N6 is no exception) allow you to use the outer display as a preview screen while making the most of the main camera for portraits, group shots, live vlogs and more.

Boy, those folding phones cost a pretty penny though. And many of them don't actually have a camera setup as good as the one on the Reno 16 Pro anyway.

Which is why OPPO has found a way to bring you the best of both worlds.

The OPPO Bubble is essentially just a second display for your phone - one just for previewing your photos and videos with. Now, unless you skip ahead to my amateurish demonstration in the video below, this may be a hard thing to get your head around, so I'll try and break it right down.

The Bubble is literally just a circular AMOLED touchscreen that pairs with a phone like the Reno 16 Pro via the OPPO Bubble app. Once paired, you swipe to open it - just like a phone screen - and launch the phone's camera app. At this point, you're technically controlling the phone's camera by remote control - from many metres away if you like, which could be handy for a scenic selfie you might want to shoot from distance.

But to help you really use it as a second screen for your phone, OPPO has included an adhesive magnetic ring in the box. Stick this to the back of the Reno 16 Pro (or the case that comes with it) and you can then magnetise the Bubble to the back of the handset just like any other magnetic accessory. Now you can preview what your main camera is seeing, effectively turning that 200MP high-res sensor into one of the most powerful selfie-cams you've ever used.

Unfortunately, while the magnet is strong, it's not quite as strong as I'd like and I have ended up dropping the bubble on a number of occasions - once on an outdoor walking path, leaving a sizeable gash in its edge.

It's probably for this reason OPPO has also included a case with its own key-chain in the Bubble's box too - although, there's a slight design flaw here as well; the Bubble case is not magnetic and the magnetic ring itself is not strong enough to penetrate the case and stick to the Bubble when the case is on. Whoops.

That's all a convenience thing though. What I can assure you is that technically, the Bubble works exactly as it should, immediately opening up a whole new world of more professional selfie options.

For example, as you'll see from the video, I'm now able to shoot ultra-stable, HDR 4K action movies, basically by remote control.

Oh, and you can load it up with a virtual pet of your choice, so there's something fun on the super-clear, 1.7-inch circular display when you're not using it with your camera.

See? Another classic example of the OPPO design team coming up with an unusual solution to a common challenge.

For anyone who loves to take pics on the run, who loves to stream, or who just wants to be able to catch any spontaneous moment that arises in the best quality possible, the Reno 16 Pro / Bubble combo has got to be a winner.

Even without the Bubble, the Reno 16 Pro is an attractive option for someone looking to upgrade from mid-tier to upper end, while stopping well short of the $2k mark. 

Is it perfect? Not quite. I've found, despite its large battery cell, it still finishes out the day without an overly impressive amount of juice in the tank. It's definitely not a two-days-without-charging kind of a phone.

And annoyingly, OPPO has skimped on wireless charging here, as usual. You'll have to graduate fully to the Find Series if that's as much of a dealbreaker for you as it is for me. At least you'll find a very speedy SuperVOOC charger and cable in the box.

Other than those two tiny niggles, it's a pretty great little handset. The camera is crazy good. There's plenty of processing power and storage and the Pop White option I reviewed is actually pretty fun to look at too. 

As for the Bubble? Turning your main camera into a selfie shooter for under $300? Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

Click here for more information and pricing on the OPPO Reno 16 Pro.

Click here for more information and pricing on the OPPO Bubble.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra - New Name the Biggest Change

How would you feel if you were the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra?

Your original model brought the whole concept of bendy screens to the global market. You've slowly but steadily been improved, streamlined and updated every year since. And now some Flash Harry new phone comes along and everybody's suddenly wanting a shorter, fatter phone than you.

Not very fair, is it?

So, just to recap if you're still confused (I know I am); the original name in folding phones has changed. The 2026 version of last year's Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 is the Z Fold8 Ultra, not to be confused with the Z Fold8, the more traditional name which has been seconded by the new form-factor phone I reviewed last week.

Being significantly taller when closed, the Ultra has more screen real estate when opened - a full 8-inches compared to the 7.6-inch inner display of the Z Fold8. This might be reason enough for many users to stick with the more tried and true design.

If you think the all the talk of multi-tasking on a foldable screen is just that; talk - I can testify to using a fold this way on many occasions. In fact, I've even typed entire reviews just like this one on Galaxy Z Fold devices, having different windows open simultaneously so I can refer to specs and features on other web pages while I write on my own.

In the past, I've even paired a small mouse and a foldable keyboard to use this kind of phone as a sort of micro-mini-PC when travelling. You think I'm kidding? Although the "base" Z Fold8 Ultra starts with 256GB of internal storage and 12GB of RAM, you can opt for a 1TB device with 16GB of RAM - that's more than most people's desktops offer.

Which might be why that top-end device carries one of the most exorbitant price tags I've ever seen on a phone; NZ$4,699.00. So if you're the kind of person who likes to own the most expensive phone in the room, that's another reason to choose the Ultra.

As with its more squat young sibling, Samsung has given this year's foldables a sweet durability upgrade by applying a dual layer of titanium below the inner (or main) display, enhancing its shock-absorbing abilities and strengthening the screen at the same time. And while I can't honestly claim the crease is now completely invisible, it's a lot harder to spot than on any other Fold before this one and more importantly, it's even more difficult to feel - if you can at all.

The Ultra is unbelievably thin when opened; just 4.1mm. To be fair, that's only 0.1mm thinner than last year's but it's still amazing to hold a device engineered to that level of precision. It's also surprisingly light, given the size of what it folds out to - a mere 215grams - although not actually any lighter than the 2025 model, it's almost as light as the single-screened Galaxy S26 Ultra.

It might be the latter handset we should really be comparing the Z Fold8 Ultra to, rather than other foldables, because these two Ultras have an interesting amount of features in common. Starting with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy processor; a chipset specifically tuned and overclocked for Samsung flagships.

I thought my phone was fast and smooth, then I picked up the Z Fold8 Ultra and realised I'd been missing out on a whole other level of breakneck, rocket-ship performance. The Ultra puts this power to fantastic use - keeping apps open when you swap between outer and inner displays, when you split screen to multi-task and when you use any of the AI tools available to you; Galaxy AI, Copilot, Gemini... whatever.

But perhaps the thing that really sets the Z Fold8 Ultra apart from other folding phones, and even the all-new Z Fold8, is the camera. It's a triple-sensor array with a 50MP Ultra Wide lens, a 10MP dedicated telephoto camera and a whopping 200MP wide main shooter. 

This means you can shoot 8K video, very high-res photos for more post-production power and most significantly, genuinely good zoom shots; 3x optical and up to 30x digital. Finally, these super expensive folding devices are getting the high-end cameras they deserved all along.

The 10MP selfie-cams on the cover and inner screens aren't quite so market-leading - but then, you shouldn't need to use those all that often when you can shoot selfies using the main camera with the press of an icon in the camera app.

I do have to pull up Samsung on its positioning of the forward-facing punch-hole camera on the internal display. It's still in the oddest place; about 3/4 of the way along the top edge, towards the right corner, or down from the left if you're holding the phone in landscape. It's a mystifying decision because it gets in the way of what you're doing all the time - especially watching sport for example. Seriously, guys - figure out which way around most users hold this phone and put the selfie cam in the middle of the top edge, or failing that, stash it right into a corner like some of the other guys do.

Samsung has also fallen behind the competition in terms of battery life too. Yes, this year's 5,000mAh cell is a significant bump compared to any previous model but they could still do better. At least the new cooling system in combination with the latest chip efficiencies mean this is a very high-spec phone that barely raises a sweat - even when generating AI video edits or playing the latest AAA games.

Make no mistake; the Ultra is more than deserving of its new name. This isn't just a high-end foldable; with the upgrades to cameras, chips and battery, it's a genuine flagship, full-stop.

What a pity it still doesn't really fit in my pocket and as a result, people will probably be more interested in its brand new baby brother.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra.