Honor’s New Folding Phone Doubles As a Purse. Sort Of.

Phone-makers have long attempted to appeal to the stylish set by churning out innovative phone designs complete with unique colors and funky cases. But Honor has a different take.

Enter the Honor V Purse, a concept folding phone that doubles as a purse. Sort of. You can’t actually put anything inside it, the way you can with a real purse. It’s essentially a phone that you wear like a purse, with detachable chain-link straps, so you can carry it in your hand or over your shoulder. Its interactive wallpapers are interchangeable too, so you can match the phone’s look to your outfit. Honor is hoping it will “herald the beginning of electronic devices being seen as an entirely new category of fashionable consumer goods.”

Unlike most (non-flip) foldable phones, which have two screens and open like a book, the V Purse has a single screen that wraps around the outside of the phone. In effect, that gives it the appearance of two screens, one on either side of the device when it’s folded close. Take note: That screen is an alway-on-display.

Here’s where the V Purse gets more fashionable. It lets you swap out the always-on-display wallpaper on both sides of the phone to match your outfit of the day. You can add chain-link straps and pearl handles, among other designs that attach to the phone. Some of those wallpapers are interactive, such as the furry one Honor showed off that responds to your touch by moving across the screen. It gives the impression of petting a cat. 

There’s also another “phygital” bracelet wallpaper with charms that are actually interactive elements. For example, if you touch the camera charm it will serve up the camera app, while the music note charm will direct you to the default music player. I have to give it up to the team at Honor for their creativity. These are definitely fun features, but I worry it could also drain your battery faster than you can say meow since it has an always-on display that presumably would be left on for a big chunk of the day to show off the wallpapers.

When I asked Honor about this battery life concern, as well as details on the battery size and camera, the company said the focus of the V Purse is in how it folds and that it’s a wearable device, but not hardware. That said, if the hardware side of the phone turns out to be respectable, the V Purse could hold a lot of potential. It could be more than just a folding phone, and truly become embraced as a fashionable accessory provided it comes at the right price.