Honor joined a growing number of smartphone manufacturers unveiling a foldable device, pricing its basic version at CNY9,999 ($1,569) at launch in the Chinese market.

CEO George Zhao (pictured) unveiled the Honor Magic V alongside the latest version of its Magic UI software at an event in China yesterday (10 January).

The release will see Honor join big names including Samsung, Huawei, Lenovo and Oppo in launching foldable handsets.

Zhao noted Honor designed the device to be a “the combination of a perfect regular smartphone [with] a large screen when unfolded”, pointing to the 6.5-inch outer screen as being “classically shaped” and of comparable quality to regular flagships.

“We should not make a foldable for the sake of making it,” he added, claiming some rival devices had an outer display which was “long, narrow and inconvenient to use”.

Honor Magic V’s inner screen measures 7.9-inches. Other specs include a triple rear camera set-up with a 50MP main unit, and a 42MP front camera; Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset; and 4750mAh battery.

Zhao noted the device could withstand 200,000 folds and unfolds.

The basic Honor Magic V offers 256GB of storage, with a 512GB version priced CNY10,999. The vendor is taking orders, with deliveries due from 18 January. It is available in silver, black or orange.