What We Think
The Honor 50 packs a lot of attractive features into a package that may appeal to some consumers if the price is right. To regain consumer interest, the brand will need to create its distinct line, separate from Huawei.
Plus:
- Google Services in Place – Full Play Store Access
- A more trim design than most is much more comfortable to use and hold.
- Smooth operation
Minus:
- Screen curvature can cause touch issues by accident.
- Quad camera overpriced
- Plastic back loves fingerprints
It has been quite some time since an Honor phone was seen in the UK, with Google Services taking pride of place. The Honor 50 is precisely that: an international return to form following the company’s separation with Huawei. It has full access to Google Play Store, all the usual apps and the Honor 50.
The Honor 50 is a bit like Huawei’s P50. It was announced in mid-2021. Perhaps we should refer to it as a “conscious uncoupling” between the two.
Now let’s get back to the device. Honor 50 features a unique waterfall display with curved edges on both sides and a dual circular-shaped rear-camera arrangement. These are the standout features that people will want.
Design & Show
- Colours: Frost Crystal, Amber Red, Emerald Green, Midnight Black
- 6.57 inch OLED panel, 1080×2340 resolution, 120Hz refresh
- Dimensions: 160×73.8×7.8mm / Weight 175g
- Under display fingerprint scanner
For a time, curved-edge displays were the norm. This is no longer the case. Larger curves can lead to more accidental touches and more often. To hide the bezel, a subtler curve is better. This has not had any practical consequences. Honor, however, has not gone this way.
The appeal is obvious visually. Its screen slides away impressively, and the appearance of the side-bezel is much smaller than on other phones.
The screen of the Honor 50 is impressive from a technical standpoint. It has high resolution and a dynamic refresh rate option that allows the panel to refresh 120 times per second. On the other hand, we find the colour balance a little odd. However, there are many ways to adjust the balance to your preference. This has been our method to get rid of the default cooler balance.
The device’s rear appears a lot like glass from a construction perspective, but it’s actually made of plastic. A ‘knock” on its surface will reveal a hollow sound. It won’t break if dropped. You will need to wipe it often to keep its best visual.
The buttons on the sides – volume up/down, power on/off and volume down/down – are well placed. A scanner under the screen can be used to quickly login. This is all good.
We like the fact that Honor 50 doesn’t have a large battery capacity. This means that the Honor 50 is slightly slimmer than other flagships of recent with larger batteries. It also gives it a sleeker feel, further enhanced by its curvature screen.
Hardware & Software
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G 5G platform, 6GB/8GB RAM
- Android 11, Magic UI 4.2. Google Play Services
- 4300mAh battery, fast-charging at 66W
Although we haven’t had much time to play with the Honor 50 yet, it will install Google Services so you can continue downloading apps from Google Play. In theory, it is impossible to transfer an older device to the Honor 50, but we could manually download all our favorite apps from the Play Store after that.
This software is built around Google Android 11 except that it uses Honor’s Magic UI 4.1. This feature was available in previous Honor software versions. It allowed for dual versions of apps to be created, and it also offered additional benefits such as App Twin. This feature is not available anymore. The user interface is essentially the default Google search engine. You can also access the app drawer. The swipe-down notification function works precisely as Google intended (no left/right split, like in Xiaomi’s new MIUI software). It’s easy to use. It’s familiar.
Under the surface, there is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778 platform. Our review device had 6GB of RAM. Other variants may be available in certain regions. Although it runs smoothly, there are no major issues. However, the Snapdragon 778 chipset isn’t the most top-tier. Qualcomm’s hardware is so much more advanced that we don’t believe that’s a problem. You can still play games with good loading times and frame rates. The handset doesn’t overheat or drain the battery as fast as a higher-end setup.
This choice of chipset is perfect in combination with the 4300mAh lithium battery. Although we have yet to see how long it lasts, a more powerful and efficient chipset wouldn’t be able to pull too much from this cell. We have already mentioned that a smaller battery capacity pays off. This makes the handset lighter and easier to carry. The 66W fast charger can charge 70% in as little as 20 minutes. Wireless charging is not available.
Cameras
- Quad rear camera
- Main: 108-megapixel, f/1.9 aperture, 0.7um pixel size, phase-detection autofocus (PDAF)
- Ultrawide (120-degrees): 8MP, f/2.2
- Macro: 2MP. f/2.4
- Depth: 2MP, F/2.4
- Front-facing camera 32-megapixels, f/2.2 aperture
We expected the dual-disc rear camera setup to be unique, as it was so unlike anything else on the market. Honor includes a useless 2-megapixel macro sensor and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. Both of these sensors could be eliminated, and you wouldn’t even notice.
The primary camera has a 108-megapixel resolution and puts more thought into it. The main camera uses a nine in one processing method to produce 11.4-megapixel results (4:3 aspect), a more common way for smartphones to work. This often yields better results in terms of detail, colour, and dynamic range.
Although the 8-megapixel resolution of the wide-angle camera is not great, we are glad that it exists. However, we would have discarded the depth and macro to make this wide-angle a better offering.
Honor’s back
It’s wonderful that the phone comes with Google Services. This means you can access all your favourite apps via Google Play. Magic UI 4.2 runs well and is not too different from Android default. This familiarity is a great starting point.
However, the familiarity between Honor 50 and Huawei P50 is evident. This level of familiarity, however, is not necessarily a positive point. Honor may be losing customers because it seems so attached to the brand despite the confidence increase in consumers.
There’s also the screen on the Honor 50. The screen is curved almost to an extreme, which is both visually stunning and not practical. Rear cameras are overpriced as well. Think of the main camera as a quad setup.
The Honor 50 packs a lot of attractive features into a package that may appeal to some consumers if it is priced right. To regain consumer interest, the brand will need to create its unique line.
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