Author: Mark Shephard

By Mark Shephard

Okay, it’s confession time — my idea of “traveling light” still involves packing at least two foldable phones, three dongles, and a portable monitor (just in case I randomly get the urge to edit a video in an airport Starbucks). So naturally I had to find out: can either the Samsung Z Fold 6 (using DeX) or the Honor Magic V3 (using Magic Desktop) actually replace a laptop when plugged into a monitor, mouse, and keyboard?

Spoiler: both are impressive… but one surprised me a LOT more than I expected.

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Setup Battle: Samsung Plays It Safe — Honor Plays It Smart

To keep things fair, I hooked both phones up to my portable monitors — a 2K display for the Fold (needed extra power + HDMI hub) and a simpler 1080p screen for the Magic (powered straight from the phone — no fuss).

Both instantly fired up into desktop mode:

• Samsung’s familiar DeX UI kicked in with a Windows-like taskbar
• Honor launched its slick Magic Desktop, complete with floating windows and a bigger mouse cursor that was much easier to see

Touchpad mode (using the phone as your mouse) worked on both phones… though Samsung’s keyboard options looked like someone got confused designing for a kid’s toy. Honor’s on-screen keyboard felt more “serious” and full-sized, but the real magic happens when you connect a Bluetooth mouse & keyboard — game changer.

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Productivity & Multitasking — Which One Feels Like a Real Desktop?

Both phones let you drag YouTube, calendars, browsers, or spreadsheets into side-by-side windows, resize them on the fly, and float apps over the top.

BUT… here’s where things started to separate:

Feature	Z Fold 6 (DeX)	Honor Magic V3 (Magic Desktop)
Window snapping	Smooth	Smooth & more intuitive
Floating apps	Yes (limit of 2)	Yes (I got up to 5+ windows!)
Multitasking speed	Fast	Faster (felt like a mini PC)
Screen recording	Hidden in settings	One-tap button in toolbar

Honor blew me away by letting me screen record in full desktop mode with audio — something DeX can do, but only if you dig into menus on the phone. Magic Desktop puts the button right where you need it. That’s the kind of polish I didn’t expect from anyone but Samsung.

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Media, Sound & Actual “Laptop Replacement”

Watching YouTube full-screen? Both look gorgeous. But surprisingly…

• Honor Magic delivered richer sound from the phone’s speakers (more bass and clarity)
• Samsung sounded tinnier — not bad, just not laptop-level good

When it came time to get work done? I found myself preferring the Magic V3. It’s lighter, powers cheaper monitors without any dongle drama, has a cleaner desktop UI, and actually kept more apps alive in the background.

The Z Fold 6 on the other hand felt… familiar. Safe. A little too much like the DeX I’ve already known for years.

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Final Verdict: Who Wins Portable Desktop of the Year?

If you want something that feels familiar, polished, and corporate-safe — Samsung DeX still gets the job done.

But if you want to ditch your laptop, travel light, and run a surprisingly powerful little desktop off just your phone — the Honor Magic V3 shocked me. It’s fun, fast, and honestly more capable than DeX in 2025.

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Curious to see how smooth these actually run and how crazy my on-the-go setup looks? Watch the full video below — I hook them up live, run editing software, and even screen record them in real time to show you the truth.

by Mark Shephard

Everyone has been hyping the Oppo Find N5 as the foldable of the moment — biggest screen, fastest chip, and all the influencers singing its praises. So why did I skip it and buy the Honor Magic V3 instead? And more importantly… did I make a big mistake?

Short answer after weeks of use: absolutely not — and here’s why.

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Specs Are One Thing… Real Life Is Another

Yes, on paper the Find N5 is an absolute monster — Snapdragon 8 Elite, huge 8.12″ inner screen, blazing 80W wired / 50W wireless charging, and a surprisingly lightweight 229 g body. No question, it’s a spec-sheet king.

But I passed on it because specs aren’t everything. Not when you live in the U.S., have to import it at over $2,000, and then accept downgraded cameras and unproven U.S. network support.

So I bought the Honor Magic V3 instead — pre-owned — for about half the cost. And let me tell you… it instantly became my daily driver.

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Why I Chose the Magic V3 (and Don’t Regret It)

• Lighter in the hand: 226 g vs Oppo’s 229 g.
• Surprisingly thin: 4.35 mm unfolded vs Oppo’s 4.2 mm — a difference you can’t even see.
• Brighter outer display: up to 5,000 nits (insanely good outdoors).
• Better cameras: Especially if you care about sharpness, color, & telephoto (huge for me as a creator).
• Kickstand case included: Simple little perk… but one I use every day.
• Cost was HALF what I would’ve paid for the N5.

Does it have the newer Snapdragon Elite chip? No — it runs the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. But in day-to-day use, I literally can’t tell the difference in speed, and I’ve tested all of these for a living.

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Software & Updates: MagicOS vs ColorOS

MagicOS on the Honor Magic V3 has honestly impressed me — it’s snappy, intuitive, and loaded with thoughtful features like floating message windows and some of the best multitasking tools I’ve used on a foldable so far.

As far as long-term update promises go, Oppo’s ColorOS technically advertises better support on paper — but when you’re paying twice as much to import a Find N5 versus grabbing a lightly used Magic V3 for half the cost, I’d rather keep my money and enjoy what MagicOS offers right now.

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Bottom Line – Did I Buy the Wrong Phone?

Nope. Not even close.

Unless you need the absolute biggest screen and fastest charging numbers at all costs, the Honor Magic V3 delivers better cameras, better value, rave-worthy brightness, and enough “thin & light” to hang with anything on today’s foldable market.

Sometimes the hype machine forgets to mention when a phone makes compromises — especially in cameras — and that’s just not something I was willing to pay extra for.

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In my video below, I put these two head-to-head with real-world camera samples, charging speed demos, and hands-on multitasking to help you figure out which one you should buy — especially if you’re afraid of choosing wrong like I might have.

By Mark Shephard

After seven straight days of daily use, testing, filming, texting, editing, and swapping SIM cards between Samsung’s brand new Galaxy Z Fold 7 and the Chinese powerhouse Vivo X Fold 5, I’m ready to answer the question everyone keeps asking me: which one is better… and which one do I prefer carrying?

Surprisingly, it’s not as obvious as Samsung would like you to think.

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Design & Comfort – Thin Isn’t Everything

Samsung finally slimmed down the Fold 7 — it’s noticeably thinner and lighter than last year’s Fold 6, with a wider and much more usable outer screen (yes, I can actually type on it now). But the sharp, squared-off edges feel a little pokey, especially when holding it for longer periods.

The Vivo X Fold 5 may technically be thicker on paper, but its rounded design feels better in the hand and avoids digging into my palm. These two phones look nearly identical in size side-by-side — but Vivo simply feels more comfortable to carry and hold.

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Displays – Samsung Brings Brightness, Vivo Brings Class

The outer screen on the Fold 7 hits an insane 2600 nits, making it a joy outdoors. But in my direct sunlight testing, the Vivo’s anti-glare inner display actually looked clearer, less washed out, and more detailed — especially in harsh lighting.

Both look great indoors, and both have nearly invisible crease lines from a straight-on view, so call this category a draw with Samsung winning brightness and Vivo winning readability.

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Software & Multitasking – Samsung is King

No contest: Samsung’s One UI is still the most powerful, customizable, and truly multitasking-friendly software on a foldable. From stacked widgets, paired apps, floating windows, sidebar shortcuts, to AI-powered article summarization — the Fold 7 just does more, and makes it fast and intuitive.

Vivo has a nice sidebar and some translator tricks, but it can’t match Samsung’s polish — and a lot of the UI content is still locked in Chinese. If you’re productivity-focused, Samsung wins big.

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Cameras – Vivo’s Still the Real Flagship

The Fold 7 amps things up with a new 200 MP main sensor, and yes — point-and-shoot photos look good. But as soon as you start to zoom, crop, or demand anything more… things fall apart fast.

The Vivo X Fold 5 runs three 50 MP Zeiss-tuned cameras, and simply outperforms Samsung in image detail, low-light capture, zoom clarity, and natural color. Anyone serious about photography will instantly see the difference. Vivo wins this hands-down.

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Performance & Connectivity – Snapdragon Elite vs Real-World Speed

The Fold 7’s Snapdragon 8 Elite chip feels faster on paper — but in day-to-day use? The Vivo frequently opened apps quicker, and even beat Samsung in cellular and Wi-Fi speed tests on my own T-Mobile SIM.

Unless you’re gaming or rendering heavy video files, you’re unlikely to notice a real performance difference between the two.

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Battery & Charging – Samsung Falls Behind

Battery life on the Fold 7 has been fine, but nothing amazing — and when it’s time to top up, that’s where frustrations start. Samsung still only supports 25 W wired and 15 W wireless charging, meaning over one hour to fully recharge.

Vivo blows it away with 80 W wired and 50 W wireless, fully topping up in under an hour. Huge quality-of-life win for Vivo.

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Final Verdict – Which One Would I Carry?

Samsung has clearly made the best Fold yet — and if you care about software, US warranty support, reliable trade-ins, and world-class multitasking, the Z Fold 7 is a phenomenal upgrade.

But when it comes to overall enjoyment — comfort, cameras, performance, and practicality — I still find myself gravitating back to the Vivo X Fold 5. In fact, I miss my Honor Magic V3 even more because it brings all of these strengths into one single foldable.

So what’s my verdict after one week?

The Z Fold 7 is the better “device”… but the Vivo X Fold 5 is still the better “phone”.

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Want to see all the side-by-side footage, camera tests, benchmarks, and real-life examples? I break it all down in my comparison video:

By Mark Shephard

Samsung keeps calling the Z Fold 7 an “Ultra Foldable”… but after putting it head-to-head against the Galaxy S25 Ultra, I’ve got to be honest — I’m still not convinced that title is deserved. Yes, the Fold 7 packs next-gen design, big horsepower, and wildly fun AI tools… but when you stack it directly against Samsung’s bar-shaped champ, some very clear differences emerge.

Let’s break it down the way I did in the video: real-world use, side-by-side tests, and brutal honesty.

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Design & Daily Use — One’s Sleeker… One’s Smarter

The Fold 7 is beautifully thin and surprisingly light this year — but those sharp, squared-off edges can dig into your palm. Meanwhile the S25 Ultra looks massive when you compare them closed, but thanks to its rounded design it’s actually more comfortable to hold long-term.

But open up the Fold and it transforms from “a little odd” into “a productivity monster.” Split-screen apps, floating windows, stacked widgets — you can flat-out do more on the Fold’s inner display than you ever could on a bar phone. If you’re a multitasker, this is one of the biggest real-world differences.

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Performance — Same Chip, Surprisingly Different Results

Both phones use the Snapdragon 8 Elite and run Samsung’s One UI 8… so opening regular apps and games? It’s a dead tie.

But the second you push them, the story changes:

• Z Fold 7 actually beat the S25 Ultra in my subtitle-rendering test in PowerDirector…
• …but then got overtaken in export speed once that thin chassis heated up and throttling kicked in.

So, yes — the S25 Ultra is technically faster under sustained load thanks to better cooling, but the Fold 7 feels quicker in day-to-day use because of its optimized UI and massive workspace.

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Camera Battle — 200MP ≠ 200MP

Both phones advertise “200-megapixel” main cameras, but don’t be fooled — they are not the same sensors.

• Z Fold 7: Fantastic point-and-shoot output from the 200MP sensor… but once you rely on zoom, the limitations show fast: only a 3× optical zoom and 10MP telephoto camera.
• S25 Ultra: Much stronger zoom system (5× optical, 100× Space Zoom), larger sensor, and sharper telephoto details.

Portraits, color science, and daytime shots? Nearly identical. But if you’re a zoom or wildlife shooter — the Ultra remains king here.

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Battery & Charging — One Clearly Wins

• S25 Ultra: 5000 mAh + faster charging = solid full-day battery, less anxiety.
• Z Fold 7: 4400 mAh + painfully slow 25 W charging = expect to hit the charger by late afternoon if you use that inner display a lot.

Stamina belongs to the bar phone, no question.

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Productivity & Features — Fold is Fun… but Missing One BIG Thing

The Fold 7 simply does more thanks to its dual-screen setup and multitasking tools. If you juggle emails, scripts, social media, Canva, YouTube, Teams, and web research all at once — the Fold is borderline addicting.

The catch? Samsung removed S-Pen support this year. Meanwhile, the S25 Ultra still houses its stylus. If you’re a note-taker, artist, or someone who likes handwriting — that’s a big win for the Ultra.

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Which One Should You Buy?

Here’s my honest takeaway:

You Should Buy…	If You…
S25 Ultra	Want best-in-class cameras, battery life, stylus, durability, and long-term performance.
Z Fold 7	Prefer multitasking workflows, large portable screens, AI tools, and unique foldable magic.

Personally? I love what Samsung’s done with the Fold 7, and I enjoy using it more as a device. But if we’re judging which one truly deserves the “Ultra” crown — the S25 Ultra still wears it, mainly because it doesn’t compromise on battery, zoom, cooling, or usability.

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Want to see the full camera tests, performance races, and my real-world verdict? Watch the comparison video above — and let me know in the comments, does Samsung now have two Ultra phones… or is there only room for one king? For now click on over to the photo gallery to see the full images of the S25 Ultra and Z Fold 7.

Click the image to watch..

by Mark Shephard

Samsung may have dominated the foldable market for years — but after watching Honor’s official (and completely Chinese-language) V5 reveal from beginning to end, translated the specs myself, and captured screenshots straight from the source… I can confidently say this: the foldable war just got real.

This isn’t a rumor roundup anymore — it’s Honor’s own words. And the Magic V5 doesn’t just aim to catch Samsung… it looks ready to overtake them where it hurts most: thinness, performance, battery size, and (most shockingly) cameras.

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Ultra-Slim Design (Without the Usual Compromises)

Let’s start with the hardware — because Honor clearly did.

• 8.8 mm thin when folded — and just 4.1 mm unfolded, now officially the thinnest foldable in the world.
• 217 g, making it the lightest full-size book-style foldable on the market.
• 6.48″ outer display + 7.95″ inner screen (slightly smaller than Vivo and Samsung, but not enough to matter)
• Dolby Vision support and peak 5000-nit outer brightness
• Available in multiple colors (including that jaw-dropping gold), but note: vegan-leather finishes are slightly thicker/heavier than glass models — so choose wisely.

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Stronger Titanium Hinge + Real IP Ratings

Honor re-engineered the hinge using titanium — not to shave weight, but to hold any angle and stand up to long-term wear. And unlike previous generations, this one’s IP58/59 rated, making it more water- and dust-resistant than any other book-style foldable you can buy today.

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Performance & Battery — Full-Power Snapdragon + Massive Cell

Here’s where Honor stops playing games:

• Snapdragon 8 “Elite” chip (full 8-core version — no cores disabled)
• Completely redesigned 6,100 mAh silicon-carbon battery (largest EVER in a foldable)
• 66 W wired + 50 W wireless charging, plus compatibility with over 230 EV wireless charging systems (yes — including cars)

That battery number is not a typo. It even edges out Vivo’s monster X Fold5 Pro — and absolutely embarrasses Samsung’s Z Fold 7 (4,400 mAh).

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Camera System — This Might Be the Real Mic-Drop

Honor is putting all its marketing weight behind the telephoto setup this year… and for good reason.

• 64 MP Periscope telephoto lens (not a standard telephoto like Samsung or Google)
• Up to 100× zoom with shockingly crisp detail
• Night-mode zooming demos were legitimately impressive
• Telephoto macro mode — letting you get crazy close on tiny subjects using the zoom lens (think Oppo Find N3 style)
• Supported by YOYO AI + cloud-based enhancements + Elite ISP

Translation: this might be the first foldable that genuinely replaces a flagship cameraphone without excuses.

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Smarter AI & Ecosystem Support

Honor’s “YOYO AI” is getting a major upgrade in V5 — promising contextual writing assistance, cross-device syncing, and photo/video enhancement features that feel a lot like Galaxy AI… but baked into MagicOS instead.

Plus: Honor claims the V5 supports the most 5G bands of any foldable, meaning Western carrier compatibility (T-Mobile/AT&T) should finally be realistic — assuming the global release lands as expected.

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Final Take – Should Samsung Be Worried?

In a word: Yes.

The Honor Magic V5 doesn’t just show up thinner — it shows up better:

Spec	Honor Magic V5	Galaxy Z Fold 7
Battery	6,100 mAh (silicon-carbon)	4,400 mAh
Thickness (unfolded)	4.1 mm	~5.8 mm
Telephoto	64 MP periscope (100×)	3× 10 MP telephoto
Charging	66 W / 50 W wireless	25 W / 15 W wireless
Weight	217 g	~239 g
Chip	Snapdragon 8 Elite	Snapdragon 8 Elite

If Honor launches this globally with Google services and US 5G support, Samsung’s Z Fold lineup is in serious trouble for the first time since 2019.

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Are you ready to jump ship? Or sticking with Team Samsung?
Drop a comment under the video — and if you want to compare it to Vivo’s new beast, check out the X Fold5 specs video here next.

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by Mark Shephard

If you’ve spent any time editing, exporting, or just plain suffering through footage in the trenches of YouTube creation… then you know not all Macs are created equal. Sure — the Mac Mini M4 stunned a lot of us earlier this year with its crazy performance-per-dollar, especially once I ripped out the stock SSD and popped in a faster 2TB drive. But Apple just dropped the Mac Studio M4 Max… and creator ears everywhere immediately perked up.

So the big question is: Has Apple finally delivered the perfect YouTuber desktop? Or is the mighty Mini still the sleeper champ?

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Raw Power… but Does It Matter?

Let’s start with the headline numbers. The Mac Studio’s M4 Max chip boasts more CPU cores and a faster GPU — making Premiere Pro timelines smoother, background tasks disappear, and heavy workflows (think: 8K RED RAW, ProRes multicam, AI plug-ins, color grading) laughably easy.

In my real-world editing tests, the Studio shaved minutes, not seconds, off renders compared to the Mac Mini — especially on longer 4K projects and multi-layer b-roll edits where the Mini’s base configuration tends to choke.

But here’s the big surprise: after upgrading my Mac Mini’s SSD… the gap tightened. Outside of brutal exports and heavy GPU stacking, day-to-day YouTube tasks (thumbnail editing, script writing, researching, Lightroom, even light DaVinci work) felt nearly identical.

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Ports, Power & Price

Creators juggle cameras, storage, stream decks, audio interfaces, lights — and here’s where the Studio starts winning on lifestyle.

• Extra USB-C/Thunderbolt ports mean fewer ugly hubs hanging off your desk.
• Better cooling lets the Mac Studio maintain max clock speeds under stress (with noticeably less fan noise than I expected).
• Internal upgradability? Seems to be, we will find out soon.

But you will pay for it — the Mac Studio M4 Max configuration I tested sits more than double the cost of my “hot-rodded” Mac Mini build (including the SSD upgrade).

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Who Should Buy Which?

Creator Type	Recommendation
Starting out / editing 4K / tight budget	Mac Mini M4 with a DIY SSD upgrade is still crazy good value
Heavy Premiere exports / multicam / color grading	Mac Studio M4 Max earns its price tag
Streaming, podcasting, docking accessories	Mac Studio offers more freedom and less frustration
Minimalist setup / tiny desk / portable station	Mac Mini still unbeatable footprint

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Final Verdict: King or Hype?

Has Apple created a TRUE YouTuber machine? Yes… but it may not be the one you think.

If you’re a performance-hungry creator with money to burn and a need for flawless workflow under pressure — the Mac Studio M4 Max is an editing dream.

But if you’re hustling smart with your budget, punching out powerful 4K content, and don’t mind a little tweaking — the Mac Mini M4, especially upgraded, still swings far above its weight.

I break it all down with side-by-side footage, SSD benchmarks, and real edit tests in the full video — watch it here (Click Image).

by Mark Shephard

Every foldable manufacturer claims their phone is the fastest, coolest, and most powerful. But as someone who uses foldables to actually create content, I’ve learned that what matters isn’t what’s printed on the chipset box — it’s what happens when you push these foldables on a real workload.

So I lined up my three current 2025 favorites for a proper showdown:

• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 – Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Elite
• Honor Magic V3 – Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
• Vivo X Fold 5 – Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 + 16GB RAM

No benchmarks. No throttled “performance mode.” This was a nose-to-nose real-world video editing test: launch PowerDirector, import a 4K video, add subtitles, and export it back out — exactly what I do when I prep short-form videos for this channel. When the CPU heats up… and RAM actually gets used… that’s when you see what separates marketing hype from practical horsepower.

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Round 1 – Subtitle Rendering

All three phones chewed through the subtitle generation surprisingly well — but the winner wasn’t who I expected.

Phone	Finish Order	Notes
1) Z Fold 7	Fastest	Elite chip kicked in late to win
2) Honor Magic V3	Right behind	Beat Vivo even with less RAM
3) Vivo X Fold 5	Slowest	16GB RAM didn’t help at all

Takeaway – Samsung’s Elite chip isn’t just a marketing name, and Honor’s optimization is impressive. Meanwhile, Vivo’s fancy specs don’t seem tuned for real creative loads.

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Round 2 – 4K EXPORT BATTLE (Heavy CPU Render)

This is where the gloves came off.

Phone	Finished In	Verdict
Galaxy Z Fold 7	Fastest overall	Rendered nearly twice as fast as Vivo
Honor Magic V3	+15–20% faster than Vivo	Great showing for “non-Elite” chip
Vivo X Fold 5	Last place	Heated up, throttled, and dragged to the finish line

Watching the progress bars crawl across the screen made it very clear: chip tuning and software optimization trump RAM quantity. The Vivo X Fold 5, despite packing the most RAM, couldn’t keep pace once things got hot. Honor’s Magic V3 not only handled thermals better but finished a solid 20% faster in the end.

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What I Learned From This Test

• ✅ Elite means Elite. Samsung wasn’t bluffing — the “Elite” chip on the Fold 7 is noticeably faster under heavy real-world loads.
• ✅ RAM ≠ real-world speed. The Vivo’s 16GB did nothing to help once thermal throttling kicked in.
• ✅ Honor Magic V3 is the quiet assassin. It beat the Vivo while staying cooler and smoother — impressive for a more affordable phone.
• ❌ Specs sheets can lie. If you make decisions based on RAM or clock speeds alone… this test proves you probably shouldn’t.

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Who Should Care?

If you only scroll Instagram, respond to texts, and watch YouTube — honestly, any of these phones will feel fast.

But if you use your foldable to create, edit, game, or multitask like a laptop — performance does matter. Waiting on an export bar doesn’t just waste time — it kills creativity.

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Want to Watch the Action Yourself?

In the full video I show temperatures, throttling, progress bars, and all — so you can see exactly how each phone acted under pressure. Click below to watch the showdown… and let me know in the comments:

• Did the Vivo disappoint you as much as it did me?
• Did the Snapdragon Elite chip perform like you expected?
• Want me to run this same test with the Honor Magic V5 next?

P.S. If you want to see how the Fold 7 fares against its own brother — the S25 Ultra — Check this out…..

Welcome to GOT Good Old Tech – Where Real-World Tech Meets Real-Life Use

I’m Mark, a long-time tech nerd and everyday dad who loves reviewing the gadgets we actually use — from foldable phones, laptops, and accessories to the gear that makes life and content creation easier.

GOT started as a place to give honest, down-to-earth opinions on today’s most hyped devices… not from a brand’s perspective, but from a user’s. I compare the latest tech (especially foldables and mobile devices) in real-world situations: multitasking, photography, editing, battery life, and how they hold up after the “new gadget smell” wears off.

Whether you’re a casual tech lover, a creator looking for your next piece of gear, or someone trying to decide what’s actually worth upgrading to — you’ll find straight-talk insights, helpful comparisons, and a few surprises along the way here.