Honor 50 Review: This Is Surely The Best Comeback Kid
- Technology Electronics
Yang Liú- 0
- 7 minutes read
Here is the first smartphone of Honor in Europe since its separation from Huawei, but it feels very familiar. That is because the Honor 50 is a close identical twin of the lately reviewed Huawei Nova 9 but along with 2 key variations. Let us find that and also see if this phone is a good option through this Honor 50 review.
Honor 50 Review: Specs At A Glance
- Body: 160.0×73.8×7.8mm, 175g; Glass front and back, plastic frame.
- Display: 6.57″ OLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, 1080x2340px resolution, 19.5:9 aspect ratio, 392ppi.
- Chipset: Qualcomm SM7325 Snapdragon 778G 5G (6 nm): Octa-core (4×2.4 GHz Kryo 670 & 4×1.8 GHz Kryo 670); Adreno 642L.
- Memory: 128GB 6GB RAM, 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM.
- OS/Software: Android 11, Magic UI 4.2, Google Play Services (market/region dependent).
- Rear camera: Wide (main): 108 MP, f/1.9, 1/1.52″, 0.7µm, PDAF; Ultrawide: 8 MP, f/2.2, 120˚, 17mm; Macro: 2 MP, f/2.4; Depth: 2 MP, f/2.4.
- Front camera: 32 MP, f/2.2, 22mm (wide), 1/3.14″.
- Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps, gyro-EIS; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
- Battery: 4300mAh; Fast charging 66W, 70% in 20 min, 100% in 45 min (advertised).
- Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); NFC.
Honor 50 Review: Handling And Design
Now that you know the specs, let us get into an in-depth analysis of this Honor 50 review. As stated above, the Honor 50 seems and feels identical to the Huawei Nova 9. It has the similar curves, a back design, and also a circular camera module that stands out. This also implies that the same materials have been available to create the device – glass back and front, plastic frame. There is no mention of Gorilla Glass so we would suppose the glass sheets do not have any added protection.
In this Honor 50 review, we have tested the Midnight Variant of the phone and it is definitely inconspicuous and clean, but there are other dimensions of the color version than just color itself. Unlike the frosted glass variant of the Nova 9 and this Honor 50, the Midnight Black version has a glossy and more slippery back. Smudges and fingerprints are also pretty visible. If you decide to use the handset without a case, we strongly suggest going for the Emerald Green and Frost Crystal colors for better grip and fewer smudges.
The camera bump is projecting quite a bit, and the primary 108 MP camera is accented with a ring surrounding it, whereas the other three sensors are placed within a secondary ring with no accents.
Anyway, the glass back is also curved just like the front – a bit on the aggressive side. Most brands keep their curved screens for the premium models, but we have the typical waterfall-like screen of Huawei on the Honor 50 also. That is a rather polarizing characteristic, so we allow you to decide if you like it or not.
Whatever the scenario may be for you, it is evident that the Nova 9 offers a modern look. The side bezels are a bit on the thick angle, but the curvature makes them look quite skinny. The bottom and top bezels seem quite symmetrical, offering the handset a more fulfilled look. We did not like the centered punch-hole that much as it is a bit bigger in comparison to what we would expect on an OLED screen. It is not a deal-breaker, nor does it hinder the image considerably more, but it is worth noting.
The side frame is created of glossy plastic, and smudges are pretty easy to spot. Luckily, the sides are super fine, and there is not a lot of space for fingerprints. And the top and bottom parts are quite flat with a frosted finish, so no finger grease there either.
Honor 50 Review: Camera
The biggest variation that needs to be stated in this Honor 50 review, hardware-wise, among the Honor 50 and the Nova 9 is the setup of the camera or, to be precise, the primary camera. The Honor 50 replaces the 50 MP unit of Nova 9, with a 108 MP one. Unfortunately, we could not make the phone spill the beans about the manufacturer, but we can assert it is a Nova bayer outputting 12 MP stills. The sensor is 1/1.52″ big and has 0.7µm pixels. The lens offers an f/1.9 aperture.
The ultrawide is the similar one as on the Nova 9 and ample another midrange that is 8 MP with f/2.2 aperture offering a 120-degree field of view. There are two other cameras – 2 MP for macro shots and 2 MP depth sensor that is accessed for portraits.
Conclusion
After this Honor 50 review, it can be concluded that this latest release from honor impresses with a great 120Hz display, which turned out to be brighter in comparison to the Nova 9’s, provides dependable battery life, charges fast, shoots some good stills, and videos, and it is among the lightest handsets in its section. It even fixes some of the cons the Nova 9 could not: it supports Google Mobile Services and provides 5G connectivity. Ir is essentially an enhanced version of the Nova 9.
