Honor 50 (Pro) launches with Google Services and 108 MP camera

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

Technical specifications

Components	Honor 50 Pro	Honor 50
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G	Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G
Memory Options	8/256 GB	8/128 GB 8/256 GB
Expandable storage?	No	No
Screen	6.72-inch Amoled Full HD+ 1236 x 2676 pixels 120 Hz refresh rate 300 Hz touch sampling rate	6.57-inch Amoled Full HD+ 1080 x 2340 pixels 120 Hz refresh rate 300 Hz touch sampling rate
Camera module	108 MP main lens: f/1.9 aperture, 1/1.52", PDAF ultra wide angle 8 MP: f/2.2 aperture, 120° FOV macro 2 MP: f/2.4 aperture depth 2 MP: f/2.4 aperture selfie 12 MP: f/2.4 aperture, 100° FOV, 1/2.8" 32 MP selfie: f/2.2, 1/3.14"	108 MP main lens: f/1.9 aperture, 1/1.52", PDAF ultra wide angle 8 MP: f/2.2 aperture, 120° FOV macro 2 MP: f/2.4 aperture depth 2 MP: f/2.4 aperture selfie 12 MP: f/2.4 aperture, 100° FOV, 1/2.8"
Video	4k at 30 FPS 1080p at 30/60 FPS Gyro EIS	4k at 30 FPS 1080p at 30/60 FPS Gyro EIS
Battery	4000 mAh fast charge 100W no wireless charging	4300 mAh fast charge 66 W no wireless charging
OS	Magic UI 4.2 with GMS	Magic UI 4.2 with GMS
Audio	no 3.5 mm jack port mono speaker	no 3.5 mm jack port mono speaker
Connectivity	Bluetooth 5.2 / NFC / LTE / 5G / Dual SIM	Bluetooth 5.2 / NFC / LTE / 5G / Dual SIM
IP certification	None	None
Dimensions & Weight	163.5 x 74.7 x 8 mm 187 g	160 x 73.8 x 7.7 mm 175 g
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.