Samsung faces increased competition with Honor's launch of a thin foldable phone.

• On Thursday, Honor unveiled its latest foldable smartphone, the Magic V3, in global markets.
• The device's thinness was highlighted by the Chinese tech company in comparison to its competitors, as well as some of its AI capabilities.
• Samsung is facing increased competition from the company in the expanding foldable smartphone market.

On Thursday, Honor unveiled its latest foldable smartphone, the Magic V3, in international markets, intensifying its competition with Samsung in the expanding market.

Honor has launched its foldable handset in China and is now pushing to expand its market share in the high-end segment abroad with its overseas release.

The Honor Magic V3 is thinner than Samsung's latest Galaxy Z Fold6, measuring 9.2 millimeters when closed compared to 12.1 millimeters for the Galaxy Z Fold6.

The phone's artificial intelligence features were highlighted by Honor, a tactic that aligns with other manufacturers promoting expensive upgrades to entice consumers to spend more money.

The Magic Portal feature of Honor's foldable smartphone now enables users to open it on multiple screens, allowing them to easily drag information across apps. This feature simplifies the process of transferring data between applications, such as copying and pasting an address into Google Maps or a picture into Google search.

Honor has been producing foldable phones before the Magic V3, as this device segment is experiencing rapid growth in the global market. According to Counterpoint Research, global foldable smartphone shipments increased by 48% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2024.

Honor is focusing on regions that experienced a more than double increase in shipments, including Western Europe, Asia Pacific (excluding India, China, and South Korea), and Latin America.

In the second quarter, Counterpoint Research reported that for the first time, Honor surpassed Samsung to become the market leader in Western Europe by market share.

Honor plans to release the Magic V3 in various countries, including the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, as well as markets in the Middle East, Asia Pacific, and Africa.

Google recently unveiled its newest foldable phone, increasing competition in the space.

In 2020, Honor was spun off from Huawei to evade US sanctions that were severely impacting Huawei's smartphone business. Since then, Honor has been intensely launching smartphones with a global emphasis.