After separating from Huawei, Honor has launched its first smartphone featuring Google apps. Back in November of last year, Honor was sold to a state-backed group. After which Honor was allowed to resume their work with Google as a result of this. After several months of waiting, the Honor 50 flagship series will finally have Google apps later this year. Outside of China, the Honor 50 will include the Google Play Store as well as other Google apps like Drive, Assistant, and more. As far as design is concerned, the Honor 50 seems to be very much the same as Huawei’s new Huawei P50.
Honor Germany confirmed the news technically last month in a tweet, which has now been deleted, but today’s Google Mobile Services comeback is official. And it isn’t just for phones; Honor has confirmed that its tablets will also get Google’s Apps.
Since its original parent company Huawei has been placed on the US list of entities, causing Google to withdraw out its Android license, Honor wasn’t able to ship Google apps and its services, such as the Google Play Store, on its phones. But now everything has changed.
Honor 50 and Honor 50 Pro
Looking at the hardware of the smartphone, their rear camera, mounted in a pair of round bumps, is the most eye-catching element of the Honor 50 and Honor 50 Pro. All of the smartphones are equipped with four rear cameras, including a 100 MP camera, an 8 MP wide-angle, a 2 MP macro, and a 2-megapixel depth camera. The Honor 50 Pro features a set of 2 selfie cameras on the front, one 32-megapixel and the other 12-megapixel ultrawide, while the Honor 50 only has one 32-megapixel camera.
The Honor 50 Pro is slightly larger with 6.72 inches compared to 6.57 for the regular Honor 50, both phones sport a 120Hz display. Silver, bronze, green and black are all available colors. They’re driven by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G processor on the inside. The 50 Pro has a battery of 4,000mAh that can be charged speedily at up to 100W, the regular 50 has a 4,300mAh battery that supports 66W of high speed.
In China, where phones often come without the Play Store, the comeback of Google’s Apps to Honor’s smartphones is hard to make much of a difference. However, their absence has made it difficult to recommend Honor and Huawei phones elsewhere. That might all change when the Honor 50 is released globally.
The Honor 50 will retail at 2,699 yuan (approx $422) in China, while the Honor 50 Pro will price 3,699 yuan (almost $578). Honor is also announcing the Honor 50 SE, which will start at 2,399 yuan (approx $375) and will be available alongside the two flagship phones.