Honor 50 series release date, price, news and features

The Honor 50 has been unveiled at an event in China, alongside siblings in the Honor 50 SE and 50 Pro - these are the first big handsets from Honor since it split from parent company Huawei, and they have some impressive features and specs.

Unlike some big phones that are launched in China, we know for certain the Honor 50 flagship is coming to international markets, though we don't know for sure when. But since we already know the specs of the phone, which you can read below, we know what to expect.

The Honor 50 and Honor 50 Pro are both solid-looking mid-range smartphones, with solid builds and specs, but there are some surprising features in some areas too, like the Pro model's blazing-fast 100W charging.

We'll run you through everything you need to know about the Honor 50 and Honor 50 Pro below. We don't know much about the Honor 50 SE, though, as it was only mentioned in passing at the launch event.

What are Honor phones? Our guide to the brand and its tech

Cut to the chase

What is it? The newest mid-range phone from Honor
When is it out? In China now, globally sometime soon
How much will it cost? We only have Chinese pricing for now

Honor 50 release date and price

During the Chinese launch of the Honor 50 on June 16, the company confirmed a list of other countries the devices would be coming to, which includes the UK, South Africa and many European countries, but not the US or Australia.

It's worth pointing out that while an Honor 50 SE and 50 Pro were also announced at the China launch, it sounds like only the main phone is coming to a global market.

In terms of price, the Honor 50 will cost 2699 RMB (roughly $420, £300, AU$550), while the Pro model will sell for 3,699 RMB (about $580, £410, AU$750) and the SE device 2,399 RMB (about $380, £270, AU$490).

Honor 50 SE and 50 Pro

Before we dive into the main phone, we should look at its budget and higher-end relatives, the Honor 50 SE and 50 Pro.

We don't know much about the former, as it was only mentioned by name at the launch event, but not detailed.

The Pro model is quite a lot like its standard sibling, but with a few additions. There are two front-facing cameras, with a 12MP video camera being the addition. There are six video-shooting modes, but the same rear cameras as the standard device (detailed below).

The phone's screen is slightly bigger at 6.72 inches across, and the phone has super-fast 100W charging, allowing it to power up to 90% in 20 minutes. There's also a 4,000mAh battery, with liquid cooling to stay cool when gaming.

Other than that, the Honor 50 Pro is similar to its 'vanilla' sibling, which you can read about below.

Design and display

The Honor 50 has a 6.57-inch screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and a 300Hz touch input rate. The display curves at the edges and is broken up by a punch-hole cut-out at the top. The screen also supports over a billion colors.

In terms of design, the phone comes in a few bold colors like Frost Crystal (silver), Amber Red (pink), Emerald Green (green) and Midnight Black (guess).

Honor states the phone's design was "inspired by the classic ring designs of luxury jewelry brands", and that it's "fusing the worlds of fashion and luxury".

The camera bump is distinctive, with two huge circles staring out at you. It doesn't sound like the phone has a headphone jack but this hasn't been confirmed.

Cameras and battery life

Both the Honor 50 and 50 Pro have the same rear cameras: a whopping 100MP main snapper joined by an 8MP ultra-wide, 2MP macro and 2MP depth sensor. So it sounds like the camera smarts are front-loaded into that main snapper.

There's also a 32MP selfie camera on the front which, as you've already heard, is joined by a 12MP extra for videos on the Pro model.

The Honor 50 has a 4,300mAh battery, a little bigger than the 4,000mAh power pack of the Pro, and charges at 66W compared to 100W on the Pro. Therefore it seems very likely the 'standard' device will take a while longer to power up.

Performance and specs

Both phones run on the mid-range Snapdragon 778G chipset, which should bring moderate processing power. They're both 5G-enabled but we don't know about RAM or storage just yet.

Some software modes are said to improve processing power when gaming; the Pro also has cooling systems to stop the phone overheating.

In terms of software, the handsets will use Honor's Magic UI on top of Android, and the company has confirmed the handset will get Google apps, which its phones weren't doing while owned by Huawei.