The Honor brand, now detached from Huawei, is finally making its big comeback in France with Google services. A new smartphone: the Honor 50, is now a new competitor in the mid-range. 2 years after the Honor 20, here is the review of the Honor 50.
Our brief opinion on the Honor 50
The Honor 50 is a very good and harmonious smartphone with a beautiful screen, good performance, good autonomy but with a small lack of photos and audio. It is a good recommendation and a good renewal for the brand.
Technical sheet
108MP
8MP
2 MPx
2 MPx
6.57 Inches
1080×2340
120Hz
OLED
Android 11
Magic UI 4.2
128 / 256 GB
4300mAh
66W
Snapdragon 778G
6 / 8 GB
From 549€
Honor 50 design and hardware
In its most sober version, the black color does not really stand out from the competition. It will be necessary to move towards the other very brilliant colors to be seen on the stage. The design of the Honor 50 is played with finesse. Its weight of 175 grams is very good for handling, as is its thinness of 7.8 mm. Its still sober back is distinguished by its photo module with two large circles.
The Honor 50 offers beautiful thin slices. We find all the buttons on the right edge. The USB-C port, the mono speaker and the dual nano-SIM slot remain on the lower edge. Nothing special apart from its protruding photo module which makes the smartphone wobbly on a table.
Honor 50 screen
The OLED screen is one of the strong points of the Honor 50. Its size of 6.57 inches is not too imposing. With Full HD+ resolution and an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate, the brand ticks all the boxes. What more ? The screen is also curved, which pushes the immersion even more when playing video and in-game content. The colors are very vivid (like the basic configured mode) but you can also stay on more natural colors. The screen of the Honor 50 is a real pleasure for the retina. Its bubble (a bit large?) at the top which hides its front photo sensor does not harm the user experience and is quickly forgotten.
Honor 50 performance
The Huawei Kirins are over. Honor now composes Qualcomm and MediaTek. The Honor 50 is therefore armed here with the Snapdragon 778G, a very good mid-range processor focused on gaming. Coupled with 6 or 8 GB of RAM depending on the configuration, the smartphone does not weaken. The performance is very good and the temperature rise is well managed. However, you should not abuse the graphics level in the most demanding games like Fortnite and Genshin Impact to maintain a stable gaming experience. RAM management is efficient and the system is fluid. The user experience is even more blissful with the 120Hz mode.
Photo
Honor wanted to go all out with its photo module made up of two circles. The first circle is the main 108 MP photo sensor and the second circle allows versatility with an 8 MP ultra wide-angle and two 2 MP sensors for macro and portrait mode. Overall, the photos of the Honor 50 are very satisfactory, if we stick to the main thing. It will not be necessary to ask too much for the ultra wide-angle which remains in the average. Good point in the very efficient night mode but bad point in the software processing which forces a lot on the saturation. The 32 MP front photo sensor is of good quality.
Audio, software and features
No fingerprint sensor on the side or on the back? He’s obviously under the screen. Very responsive and secure, still a pleasure to use. The audio part of the Honor 50 is good despite omitting the stereo, so you will have to do with the mono speaker. The Magic UI 4.2 overlay joins Android 11. It’s still EMUI (Huawei’s overlay) with a little mustache. Perhaps in the next few years, we will be able to note a real transition. The thing to remember: Google services are FINALLY back. If you ever have an Honor laptop, Honor Magic-Link allows you to share the smartphone screen. You can also transfer files from the smartphone more easily.
Autonomy and Battery of the Honor 50
Comfortable. Here is the autonomy of the Honor 50. Playing on finesse, the battery is “only” 4300mAh. If you have moderate use, the day is easily attainable, even the day and a half. On the other hand, for intensive use, it will be necessary to go through the charging box to spend the night. Speaking of charging, it’s fast with the Honor SuperCharge 66W. The Honor 50 recharges to 100% in less than an hour. No wireless charging on the program.
Conclusion: What is the Honor 50 worth?
The Honor 50, more than a good phone, also signs a very good return for the brand. In addition to reconnecting with Google services, Honor is back with a lot of new features. There is then a certain magical harmony even if there are some shadows on the photo and audio part. The Honor 50 is a very good smartphone that only fails in its poorly exploited photo versatility and some premium lacks due to compromises. You can’t deny the beauty of its screen and its 66W fast charge..
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