Honor V Purse launches in China: a thin and light outward foldable with a unique style

2023-09-19

Honor initially unveiled the Honor V Purse as a prototype device, which suggested it would never be available to consumers – that has now changed. The uniquely styled outward foldable is now available through a limited pre-sale in China.

Here’s the best part about it – in its folded state it measures 156.5 x 74.7 x 8.6mm and weighs 214g. A Galaxy S23 Ultra measures 163.4 x 78.1 x 8.9mm and weighs 234g, an iPhone 15 Pro Max is 159.9 x 76.7 x 8.3mm and 221g. This is a horizontal foldable that’s smaller than some bar phones.

Again, this is an outward foldable, meaning that there is only one display that wraps around the outside of the device. It’s a 7.71” OLED panel with 2,348 x 2,016px full resolution and 10.5:9 aspect ratio. When folded, you are left with a 6.45” display (2,348 x 1,088px, 19.4:9). This is a 10-bit panel with DCI-P3 colors and 1,600 nits peak brightness and 2,160Hz high frequency PWM dimming, the refresh rate is 90Hz.

The V Purse is powered by the Snapdragon 778G with 16GB of RAM and either 256GB or 512GB storage (we’ll get to the pricing in a minute). The phone runs MagicOS 7.2 based on Android 13.

The cameras are laid out like a traditional phone – there is a 50MP main module (f/1.9) and a 12MP ultra wide on the back that line up wit the back half of the display when closed. There is also an 8MP front-facing camera for selfies and video calls (you could always use the rear cameras too, of course).

The battery isn’t huge but the 4,500mAh capacity is still more than we might have expected given how thin and light this phone is (the Galaxy Z Fold5 is 13.4mm closed and weighs 253g with a 4,400mAh battery). Charging is done at 35W over the USB-C port (USB 2.0).

As you may have seen already, the unique gimmick of the Honor V Purse is that you can attach a chain to it and carry it like a purse. Since the display wraps around the device, it allows the owner to customize its look with a variety of Always On Display styles to match their outfit.

Again, the Honor V Purse is going on a limited pre-sale today. The 16/256GB version costs CNY 6,000 – that’s the equivalent of $820/€770/?68,500, not that there is any chance of this device getting a global release. The 16/512GB model is CNY 6,600. For comparison, the Magic V2 starts at CNY 9,000 for the 16/256GB model.

The first units will ship out a week from now on September 26, but we don’t know how many units are available in total.