Antagonistic marketing isn’t anything new. Samsung loves to do it against its fellow tech monolith, Apple. Now Honor is trying a similar tactic against the Korean giant centered on its latest Galaxy Z Fold 6 foldable. Honor says it has a far thinner squashable phone than Samsung just around the corner. It’s probably going to be cheaper, too. The Magic V2 costs £1,200 in the UK, or $1,578. The company made its point, etching a minuscule message on the hinge side of its upcoming Honor Magic V3 phone. What it’s not saying is that folks in the U.S. and Canada are likely still screwed out of buying the damn thing without jumping through hoops, thinner or not.

In a marketing stunt, the China-based phone maker, once owned by international telecommunications giant Huawei, wrote a message that specifically called out Samsung’s foldable directly onto its latest Magic V3 phone. In a release, the company said it commissioned English micro-artist Graham Short to stencil its diss track, which you can only read with a microscope. For our readers’ sake, here’s the entire message below:

“Dear Samsung Galaxy Z Fold owners, we’re sorry. We know you were excited to buy a phone that folds in half and fits in your pocket, awkwardly. You were promised the future, a technical marvel, a world of boundless multitasking and performance. And now, you’re probably looking at the new HONOR Magic V3 and feeling a little… betrayed. Size matters, and we feel your pain. Like being tipped for a gold medal and then coming last in the race, the knowledge that a thinner, lighter, and more durable foldable exists is enough to make anyone question their choices. We get it. You were an early adopter, a pioneer bravely venturing into the uncharted territory of foldable screens with questionable durability. You deserve better. In fact, you deserve a gold medal. In all seriousness, we at HONOR are committed to pushing the boundaries of technology and bringing you the best possible foldable experience. We’re just saying… it’s okay to feel let down. We’d feel the same way.” Lmao, HONOR is roasting Samsung again. They engraved a 166-word "apology letter" to Samsung on its new Magic V3 foldable phone. 💀 ————— The full text:"Dear Samsung Galaxy Z Fold owners, we’re sorry. We know you were excited to buy a phone that folds in half and… pic.twitter.com/vHZukowpk9 — Alvin () August 29, 2024

 

Certainly, size does matter. Foldable phones have come a long way from their thickest incarnations, and the Galaxy Z Fold 6 now measures 12.1 mm when folded. By comparison, the Honor Magic V3 is expected to be 9.2mm when closed up. For extra comparison, the recently announced Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold is 10.5 mm closed up. I’ve held both Google and Samsung’s foldables, and while the difference is minimal, it is noticeable. 

Honor keeps harping on its “world’s thinnest foldable” sticking point, plus its AI integration is meant to rival Google’s. But we need to recognize that size isn’t everything. I’d consider its power for the price to be a bigger factor in just how well it compares. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 starts at $1,900, $100 more than the Z Fold 5. It has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip. 

The price difference is staggering. Currently, the Magic V3 uses the same chip and comes with the same starting memory and RAM options. Honor’s foldable also contains a 50 MP wide, a 50 MP periscope telephoto, and 40 MP ultrawide lenses. The Fold 6 has a 10 MP telephoto and a 12 MP ultrawide. Specs-wise, the Magic V3 would have an edge on Samsung’s latest.

Then again, we still haven’t used the Magic V3, or the Magic V2, for that matter. If you’re based in the U.S., you probably haven’t touched an Honor phone in many years. We have a lot of experience with Samsung’s software suite, but not nearly as much as with Honor’s MagicOS. Honor fell under sweeping U.S. sanctions in 2019 under then-President Donald Trump, and it split with Huawei fully in 2020. Post Huawei, some of the phone makers’ devices, like the Magic 6 Pro, have made their way to the West. Honor released its Magic V2 in Europe half a year after it debuted the phone in China. The Magic V3 has been out in China since July.

You still can grab foreign phones from resellers or unlocked versions not directly from the companies themselves, but it’s never as easy as getting it through a U.S. carrier. T-Mobile remains the best carrier for getting overseas smartphones to work in North America, but few folk outside the enthusiasts will go that far just to try a cool-looking phone.

Honor is set to unveil its ultra-slim foldable phone next week at IFA 2024 in Berlin, Germany. We’re looking forward to seeing it in person. We like cool phones, and on occasion, we like slim phones, too. But there’s a sticking point. At the very least, we in the U.S. can buy Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 6 without jumping through the hoops of acquiring it from overseas.

This post was edited Aug. 30 at 11:50 a.m. to include information about buying from resellers.