Chinese cellphone brand Honor has revealed that its new Magic Vs2 will utilise aerospace-grade magnesium alloy and titanium for lightweighting. 

Last week, Honor showcased its latest foldable smartphone offering, the Magic Vs2. The foldable smartphone is reported to have a weight of only 229 grams, a weight that Honor claims to be the lightest foldable smartphone currently on the market. This is attributed to a combination of the phone chassis that is constructed of aerospace-grade magnesium alloy and the use of a 3-D printed titanium hinge that further reduces the phone’s weight.

Magnesium and titanium have historically been popular materials used for consumer goods and portable electronics due to both having a high-strength-to-weight ratio. According to Project Blue data, magnesium and titanium consumer goods currently account for roughly 4% and 2% of demand, respectively. The largest demand market for magnesium metal is that of aluminium alloys, where it is used as a constituent to increase its hardness and corrosion resistance, while titanium demand is driven by the aerospace industry.

Titanium demand linked to smartphone production is estimated to be roughly 2.5kt in 2023 and is anticipated to grow to 3.5kt by 2033. Despite the growing popularity of magnesium and titanium usage in smartphones, key market drivers will remain the aerospace and aluminium industries. The continued growth of smartphone applications over the medium term is linked to the recently launched Apple iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models, among others, that use titanium and/or magnesium in their chassis and other components, along with the now-unveiled Honor Magic Vs2 that use both metals in the smartphone design.