Honor 50 (Pro) launches with Google Services and 108 MP camera
Honor officially launched its new line of smartphones, the Honor 50, in China on Wednesday, June 16. The Honor 50 and Honor 50 Pro are the manufacturer's first smartphones since it was sold by Huawei. And: They're getting the Google Mobile Services back!
- In China, the Honor 50 and Honor 50 Pro are already on pre-order starting at 2699 and 3699 yuan, respectively, or 420 and 575 USD (excluding tax).
- Honor has confirmed that these smartphones will soon be launched in other markets outside China, including the UK. The US are not on the list, though.
- The Honor 50 and Honor 50 Pro will feature Google services
- A more affordable Honor 50 SE has also been announced, but its launch outside of China is uncertain
Summary:
- Honor 50s will have Google services
- Specs: Quad 100MP camera module and Snapdragon 778G
- Design: A very Huaweiesque look
- Honor 50 and Honor 50 Pro release date and price
The Honor 50 will have Google services
This is surely the most important announcement concerning these smartphones: The Honor 50 and Honor 50 Pro will indeed have Google services. Since the sale of Honor by Huawei last November, Honor claims to be completely independent of its parent brand.
Even though the technosphere may not be 100% convinced of the effectiveness of this separation, Honor has confirmed through a statement that its smartphones will indeed receive GMS.
Journée importante pour @Honor_FR, puisque notre partenariat avec Google a été confirmé, permettant aux futurs utilisateurs de la marque d'accéder à l'ensemble des Google Mobile services et du Playstore! https://t.co/BJ2j3EpneS
— George V (@dji0805) June 16, 2021
"Honor devices will undergo Google's Play Protect certified security review and compatibility testing process to ensure they are ready to run Google and Google Play Store apps. Honor devices will therefore have the option to have Google Mobile Services ("GMS") pre-installed on compatible devices, in accordance with Google's licensing and governance models," the release reads.
Specs: Quad 100 MP camera module, Snapdragon 778G and 100W fast charging
First of all, I would like to remind you that the specs listed below are for the Chinese variants of the Honor 50 and Honor 50 Pro. It is quite possible that the international versions will differ. Don't take these specs at face value.
Honor 50 Pro
Let's start with the Honor 50 Pro. It packs a 6.72-inch curved OLED display with Full HD+ resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate and 300Hz touch sampling rate. It runs on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 778G SoC, a high-end mid-range chip etched in 6nm. It's paired with 8 or 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.
On the back, there's a quad camera module carried by a 108 MP wide-angle main lens coupled with an 8 MP ultra-wide angle and a 2 MP macro+depth sensor duo (obviously). On the front, we have a 32+12 MP dual camera module.
Honor also touts special Vlog modes that capture videos from the front and rear cameras simultaneously.
As for the battery, it is quite modest with 4000 mAh but it supports fast charging with up to 100 Watts allowing to charge the smartphone from 0 to 90% in 20 minutes according to the manufacturer.
Honor 50 and Honor 50 SE
The basic Honor 50 takes the essence of the technical data sheet with a few differences, as you would expect.
The screen has a smaller diagonal of 6.57 inches. At the same time, there's a larger battery of 4300 mAh but a slightly slower fast charging feature with "just" 66 Watts. The camera module on the back, on the other hand, is identical to the Honor 50 Pro. Only the second 32MP selfie sensor on the front missing.
In their launch materials, Honor did not include a spec sheet of the Honor 50 SE, the "lite" and more affordable version of this line-up. This may mean that the smartphone will not be launched outside of China. Anyway, the specs presented during the keynote showed a 120Hz 6.78-inch LCD panel, a triple camera module (no the depth sensor, aww), a 4000 mAh battery and a MediaTek Dimensity 900 SoC.
Honor 50 Pro/ Honor 50
| Components | Honor 50 Pro | Honor 50 |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G | Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G |
| Memory Options |
|
|
| Expandable storage? | No | No |
| Screen |
|
|
| Camera module |
|
|
| Video |
|
|
| Battery |
|
|
| OS | Magic UI 4.2 with GMS | Magic UI 4.2 with GMS |
| Audio |
|
|
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.2 / NFC / LTE / 5G / Dual SIM | Bluetooth 5.2 / NFC / LTE / 5G / Dual SIM |
| IP certification | None | None |
| Dimensions & Weight |
|
|
| Colours | Frost Crystal, Amber Red, Emerald Green, Midnight Black | Frost Crystal, Amber Red, Emerald Green, Midnight Black |
| Price | tbd | tbd |
Design: A very Huaweiesque look
Honor may be separate from Huawei and offer Google services on its Honor 50s, but the smartphones sport a design veeery reminiscent of the upcoming Huawei P50.
Honor claims to have been inspired, not by Huawei, but by the designs of luxury jewelers to come up with its Dual-Ring design of its oblong camera module that houses the lenses contained in two vertically stacked circular islands.
The available colours are called Frost Crystal, Amber Red, Emerald Green and Midnight Black. The Frost Crystal colour has a glossy coating with diamond-like or glittery features.
There's no 3.5mm jack (anybody still using those?) and no information in regards to an IP certification.
Release date and prices for Honor 50 and Honor 50 Pro
In China, the first models have already been launched this Wednesday, June 16. The Honor 50 starts at 2699 yuan, and you'll have to pay at least 3699 yuan for the "smallest" Honor 50 Pro. The Honor 50 SE clocks in at 2399 yuan. This translates to 420, 575, and 375 USD, respectively.
thnks for sharing
Non-Unlockable bootloader is all I need to know.
So no way to really own the phone; you're at the mercy of whatever Honor has done and decides to do. And their reputation in this regard is not worthy of my consumer dollars.