Many people still believe that foldable smartphones are inherently much more fragile than traditional slab-style devices. This is despite the fact that foldables have already had half a decade to evolve and overcome their growing pains. But the question remains: are foldables fragile?
We decided to find out for ourselves by submitting the Magic Honor V3 for a set of durability tests. Let’s see, once and for all, whether foldables really are behind slab-style phones in this all-important aspect. If you’re ready, grab some popcorn and hit play below.
So here’s what happened. We tested the water resistance, first in terms of immersion and then its ability to withstand water pressure. Then we put it in the washing machine to check. a claim of Honor that it could survive something like that without any problems. It turns out that was true. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a hydraulic press on hand to check the other internal test the marker performed.
So we froze the Magic V3 in a block of ice to test its ability to withstand extreme temperatures. The phone passed all of these tests with flying colors. We tried to scratch the plastic protector applied to the foldable display and, well, it scratched, very easily, with just our fingernails. It was just the replaceable protector, so it’s not as bad as it sounds.
The Magic V3’s hinge probably got the worst treatment. We had it carry a 5kg weight, and it wouldn’t budge. Then we used the phone like a hammer, denting it a bit – but without affecting normal operation. And finally we did some drop tests, and we won’t spoil those for you – be sure to watch the video all the way through to see the results.