​Honor Magic 2 launches with retractable slide for fuller screen

The Honor Magic 2 smartphone that comes with a retractable slide has launched in Beijing, China.

Huawei’s latest offering from its sub-brand has a slider design that hides its front cameras to offer a near full-view screen for its 6.39-inch display. Users can slide the cameras out for selfies.

It is the successor to the Honor Magic — in which the company highlighted its artificial intelligence (AI) features — that was launched in 2016.

The Honor Magic 2 has 24-megapixel triple-lens camera in its rear, and the retractable 16-megapixel triple-lens front camera that also offers 3D facial recognition.

The smartphone boasts a Huawei flagship Kirin 980 processor, in-display fingerprint sensors, and its Yoyo virtual assistant.

Sales of the phone will begin in China on November 6.

The Honor Watch was unveiled alongside the Magic 2. It is the first smartwatch from Huawei to carry the Honor brand, and comes with a 1.2-inch AMOLED screen, double-sided straps, and a heart rate monitor. The smartwatch will roll out in January 2019.

In August, Huawei also launched the Honor Play, a smartphone marketed as a gaming phone, in Asia.

Huawei has successfully packed mid-range phones with flagship features, and has chipped away at Samsung’s market share.

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