What you need to know
- Honor launched its 500 series in China, which features a base 500 model and a 500 Pro with a 6.5-inch display and a thin frame.
- The phones look similar to Apple’s iPhone Air with soft colors and a camera module with dual cameras for the base model and three lenses for the 500 Pro.
- The 500 series features a massive 8,000mAh battery with 80W wired charging capabilities.
- The phones are priced at ~$380 and ~$507 for the 500 and 500 Pro, respectively, and there’s no word on if they will arrive overseas.
Honor’s newest smartphone release sees two phones arriving for consumers in China, but with a design that looks incredibly familiar.
In a press release, Honor launched the 500 series, which includes a 500 and a 500 Pro device. Entering the mid-range segment, the Chinese company states its devices feature “flagship-class” photography, live capture capabilities, and more. The Honor 500 series kicks off with its base model, which boasts a 6.5-inch display with a thin 1.05mm bezel on a “slim” frame (7.75mm). Internally, the Honor 500 features the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 SoC, a chip that sought to bring flagship-quality strength and features to more price-conscious, mid-range phones.
Honor states that its base 500 model offers “a wide range of eye protection features, helping to alleviate discomfort from natural light fluctuation, flicker, brightness, and more.” The company is also leaning into its artificial intelligence software for features like AI Defocus Display and AI Motion Sickness.
Though a thin phone, it’s the back of the Honor 500 series that’s giving us fruity Apple vibes. The Honor 500 features a horizontal camera array with rounded corners, and its lenses are beside each other. From the color of the phone (blue, pink, silver, and black) to the camera visor, it’s clear that Honor’s inspiration was Apple’s iPhone Air. This visor contains a 200MP main lens and a 12MP ultra-wide camera.
Honor adds that the 500 was created with an “integrated cold-carved unibody design, in which the camera module and rear glass are crafted as a single seamless piece.” The MagicOS 10 software and Honor’s “tiered” AI button will greet users out of the box. What’s not so mid-range is the Honor 500’s battery, which sits at 8,000mAh with 80W wired charging, 27W wired reverse charging, and 50W wireless support.
The Honor 500 has launched in China this week for 2699 RMB (~$380). There’s no word on whether we’ll see this device arrive in other markets.
500 Pro ventures more toward “flagship”
The other side of the pie is the Honor 500 Pro, which the press release states continues the 6.5-inch display with thin bezels on a thin frame. Internally, the 500 Pro swaps the mid-range-focused chip for the 2024 Snapdragon 8 Elite flagship SoC. Chinese consumers will find the same overall iPhone Air-like design for the 500 Pro; however, its camera array features an additional lens: a 50MP telephoto lens.
Honor states this lens supports its in-house SOIS stabilization system for “crispy” and “steady” shots during fast-paced action. The 500 Pro (base 500, too) features 4K-to-Live conversion. Honor says this helps users turn their 4K-recorded videos into “4K Live clips” for social media purposes.
An 8,000mAh battery with the same charging specs is listed for the 500 Pro, too. What’s more, Honor says its 500 Pro is much more equipped to handle data, reception, and more. This device’s HONOR C1+ RF Enhanced Chip is said to enhance its “signal reception, network stability, and uplink speed, ensuring smoother streaming, faster uploads in high-traffic and signal-weak areas.”
We can kind of see where Honor is pushing its 500 and 500 Pro, as even the company itself states the phones are designed for the “next generation of young, always-on creators.”
The Honor 500 Pro is available in China for 3599 RMB (~$507).