We can firmly say that Honor is officially back. The brand, now separated from Huawei and no longer subject to the annoying ban of Google services, has brought the new smartphone to Italy Honor 50: a model that brings back all the features that Honor has accustomed us to and combines them with an elegance impossible not to notice. Here is ours Honor 50 review.
The Honor 50 review
As anticipated, the smartphone is really Elegant, as well as beautiful (even if it is a subjective question). At first glance, the curved edges that characterize the display – and which recall a premium smartphone look – and the particular photographic module.
The back is made of glass while the frame of the body is made of plastic: in the hand there is an overall pleasant feeling, the smartphone is solid, well built and it does not tend to slip out of your hands. The smartphone is certainly not small in size, with its own 159,96 mm x 73,76 mm, has and salt 7.78 mm thick and the weight of 175 grams they increase the handling.
Honor 50 is available in four colors: Emerald Green, Midnight Black, Frost Crystal e Honor Code. We tested the latest color, less sober and much more particular than the others, but which gives uniqueness to the smartphone without taking away its elegance.
The display
The smartphone is equipped with a display OLED FullHD+ da 6,57’’ a 120Hz and with 1.07 billion colors. The display is really great, both for color fidelity and brightness: already during the initial configuration it is impossible not to appreciate the smartphone panel. The 120Hz are noticeable, but if you want to save a little on autonomy you can disable them through the settings, by choosing the standard mode at 60Hz, or activate the dynamic mode which varies the frequency automatically. In addition to the visual quality, the curvature of the display is also excellent: we have never had problems with accidental touches while holding the smartphone.
Speaking of displays, the fingerprint sensor is integrated in the lower part: we found it to be quite accurate and fast, with no particular reading problems. On the upper part we find the hole that houses the front camera: wanting to look for defects even where there are none, we would like to say that we would have preferred a slightly smaller hole, reducing the black border that can be seen by tilting the smartphone towards a light source.
To complete the aesthetics of the Honor 50 we find the large photographic module placed on the left of the back. Despite the generous size, we appreciated that it doesn’t overhang too much. On the lower part of the body we find the entrance USB-C for fast charging at 66W, a single speaker, the trolley for the nanoSIM and a microphone. Unfortunately the ear capsule does not act as a second speaker, so we can only use the mono speaker placed on the bottom of the body. On the rest of the body we find other microphones, the on / off button and the volume rocker. Unfortunately it lacks the 3.5mm audio jack and the certification of resistance to water and dust.
What’s under the body
Under the body we find a processor Snapdragon 778G octa core with maximum frequency of 2.4Ghz and an Adreno 642L GPU. The internal space available is from 128GB o 256GB, depending on the model chosen, accompanied respectively by 6GB o 8GB in memory RAM. Unfortunately the internal memory is not expandable via SD card.
The smartphone is incredibly smooth and responsive: We did not find any slowdowns in both daily processes and heavier usability. Gaming is also not a problem for the Honor 50, which juggles very well even in the longest sessions. The excellent power is accompanied by one great energy efficiency, which allows you to reduce consumption and allows you to arrive in the evening without any problem: the battery is 4300 mAh, certainly not among the most capacious, but optimization is king.
In addition, the 66W charger included in the package allows you to fully charge the smartphone in about 40 minutes, giving an energy boost – charging the smartphone to more than 60% – in a quarter of an hour.
As for connectivity, this Honor is equipped with 5G, Wi-Fi 6 e Bluetooth 5.2 e chip NFC: in short, nothing is missing.
Speaking of shortcomings that are not there, it is impossible not to mention the return of Google services. Indeed Honor 50, which runs on the Magic UI 4.2 based on Android 11, is the first smartphone of the brand to arrive in Italy after the official separation from Huawei, resulting in the exemption from the US ban which prevented the marketing of models equipped with GMS. The Magic UI is practically the copy of the EMUI, with elegant and minimal graphics, very clean and without excessive frills that not always like everyone.
There are the classic features inherited from Huawei, such as particular gestures – even with the knuckles – or the ability to block some applications. Speaking of applications, we find several pre-installed ones that always derive from Huawei smartphones, such as the performance optimizer, the weather and the file manager.
Honor 50 review: how it shoots
The time has come to talk about the particular photographic module, which certainly stands out. It consists of a main sensor Isocell HM2 da 108MP, a 8MP ultrawide sensor e two 2MP sensors, one dedicated to macros and one of depth. Set aside the technical data sheet, in practice the smartphone does not disappoint: the photos are very good, both in ideal lighting conditions and in night sessions. The shots are sharp and well detailed and the colors are very vivid (sometimes too much). Unfortunately the wide-angle sensor has disappointed us a bit, the quality is in fact scarce and the shots are not sharp and not very detailed. There front camera instead is from 32MP f / 2.2 and it is very good, taking home selfies that are more than valid.
Honor 50 is capable of recording videos up to 4K a 30fps and is characterized by some modes dedicated explicitly to vloggers. Among the most interesting we find that multi-video which allows you to record simultaneously from two cameras, choosing between the front and the main one or wide-angle and main. The mode in question, however, stops at 1080p resolution, as well as videos recorded with the front camera.
Data sheet
- Dimensions: 159,96 mm x 73,76 mm x 7,78 mm
- Weight: 175 grams
- Display: 6.57 ″ OLED FullHD + 1080 x 2340 pixels
- CPU: Snapdragon 778G
- GPU: Adreno 642L
- RAM: 6/8GB
- Memory: 128/256GB
- Net: 5G
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, USB-C, GPS, NFC
- Battery: 4300 mAh
- Rear Camera: 108 MP + 8 MP + 2 MP + 2 MP
- Front Camera: 32 MP
- Video: 4K @ 30fps
- Operating system: Android 11
Honor 50 review: buy it or not
The smartphone, on the whole, really convinced us and we liked it a lot. It is elegant, not exaggerated in size but at the same time solid, it is reliable both for autonomy and for performance – which with a single word we would define “fluid” – and the display is really excellent. Without considering that after quite some time Google services are back, essential for most users. The slightly sore point is the list price, which starts from € 529.90 for the 6GB + 128GB version, to get to 599,90€ for the larger one.
We think the price is a bit high compared to some competitors that offer more or less the same features, but there are two good news. The first is that until 11 November, by pre-ordering the smartphone from Honor’s website, you can enjoy a discount of 50 € (find the discount code under the photo of the smartphone on the official website); the second is that, almost certainly, in the short term the price of the smartphone will drop making this Honor 50 truly perfect.
PRO
- Great display
- 66W charging
- Google services
- Very smooth and responsive
AGAINST
- Price a little high
- Mono speaker only
- Wide-angle camera not up to par