Huawei P50: Is There a New Huawei Flagship on the Horizon?

Moe from Mondo / 12-05-2021 / Reviews

One of the most anticipated device releases of the year has been that of the mysterious Huawei P50 range – and if leaked images are to be trusted, its easy to see why.

The brand continues to set itself apart with the P50, changing up the smartphone norms for 2021. The design of the P50’s camera bed is as unique as the camera specs we’ve come to expect from Huawei.

With two large circular islands that protrude slightly from the device and a front camera so small you could almost miss it, the Huawei P50 is certainly making a statement with its looks.

The range is said to boast a display of 6.3 inches on the flagship device to 6.7 inches on the P50 Pro +. Bezels take up barely any room on all three devices, opening up more screen space and making it the perfect option for gamers and binge-watchers.

Among the exciting whispers doing the rounds is that the P50 Pro + has paired the standard telescopic camera with a new periscope option for greater zoom and detail and comes with Leica optics which are considered “smaller, faster and sharper”. Huawei’s ‘liquid lens’, which has been in development for a few years now, will also likely make its debut.

As impressive as these specs are, it’s not the camera alone which will be a drawcard. Huawei may no longer have Google in its corner but the brand has amped up other cutting-edge features to keep their long-time followers locked in, including a 120 Hz refresh rate and a 300 Hz response rate on the P50 Pro +, paired with 16 GB RAM, up to 512 GB of memory and a fast-charging 4800 mAh battery. The P50 range could also be the first of the Huawei devices to run fully on its own operating system – the Harmony OS.

The entire range is expected to launch in June in shades of white, black, blue and, a rather surprising, beige.

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Huawei Mate 30 Pro – Rumours, Specs and Release Date

Following the success of the Huawei Mate X and Mate 20 Pro , the Chinese tech giant is gearing up for the release of the latest devices in their Mate series – the Huawei Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro. There have been a few leaks surrounding the upcoming Mate 30 Pro recently, but nothing has been officially confirmed. The device was expected to be released in mid-October this year, but it seems more likely that the Mate 30 devices will drop in September 2019. Let’s take a look at what could potentially be in store for the Huawei Mate 30 Pro. Operating System A few months back, Huawei were hit with a trade ban in the United States. Thankfully the ban has been l ifted, so Huawei fans can rest assured that their new Mate 30 devices will ship with Google’s Android operating system, most likely Android Q. Although Huawei recently unveiled their Harmony Operating System, also known as Hongmeng, there doesn’t seem to be plans for their latest devices to run this OS just yet. Internal Hardware One thing is certain - the Huawei Mate 30 Pro will get a significant upgrade to its processor and is rumoured to run the Kirin 985 along with a Balong 5000 5G modem. Cameras The Mate 30 Pro’s predecessor, the Mate 20 Pro, housed its cameras in a square cut-out at the rear, but the word among techies is that the Mate 30 Pro may house a rectangular or even a circular cut-out to accommodate more cameras, possibly five lenses at the back of the phone or four lenses with a space for the camera flash. It will boast a 5x optical zoom and a 50x digital zoom. The set up could be similar to the recent P30 Pro, hosting wide, ultrawide and telephoto lenses. It’s unclear whether the front facing camera will be placed in a hole punch, a notch or under the screen. Additional Features & Pricing The Mate 30 Pro is rumoured to have a 4200 mAh battery with 55W fast charging support, and will reportedly be available in Black, Red, Gold White, Blue, Chrome White, Classic Blue, and Classic Red. No official pricing has been released yet, but it is likely to be in the same ballpark as current flagship devices from Samsung, Huawei and Apple, which hover around the R20 000 mark. We’ll keep you updated as more information rolls in.

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Huawei Announces Free Service Days for South African Customers

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US President Donald Trump issued a ban last month, barring American companies from trading with certain Chinese companies, including Huawei, which has grown rapidly over the years to become one of the major players in the market with the release of popular devices like the Mate 20 and P30 Pro. As you may know, the ban means that Google would have to cut off Huawei’s access to its Android operating system, Google apps and security updates, leaving Huawei smartphone owners worried that their beloved devices just turned into expensive paperweights. There’s no need to panic, yet. Not long after the ban was announced, Huawei was granted a 3-month grace period that would allow them to continue doing business with Google, meaning that current users of its devices would not be affected and can still access the Google Play Store, download apps such as Gmail and YouTube, and receive security updates and patches. The long-term plan is still unclear though as no-one can predict what will happen after the 3-month grace period ends on 19 August 2019, but just in case, Huawei is developing a backup plan. Once news of the ban broke, Huawei revealed that it has been working on its own app store and operating system, similar to Apple’s App Store and iOS. It’s reportedly called Hong Meng, but details on whether it will be ready in time if the ban continues after the grace period have been scarce. Another concern is whether there is room for a new operating system, as Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android pretty much dominate the smartphone industry worldwide. Even Microsoft had to abandon their Windows mobile OS because of poor adoption and lack of support from app developers. The other option Huawei has is switching all users to the open-source version of Android, but this OS will be limited in terms of access to Google’s apps, which will have to be accessed via a web browser or by side-loading the apps on devices, which may seem like too much trouble for the average user looking for a phone that just works right out of the box. Huawei recently released a statement to the media: “Huawei has made substantial contributions to the development and growth of Android around the world. As one of Android’s key global partners, we have worked closely with their open-source platform to develop an ecosystem that has benefitted both users and the industry. Huawei will continue to provide security updates and after-sales services to all existing Huawei and Honor smartphone and tablet products, covering those that have been sold and that are still in stock globally. We will continue to build a safe and sustainable software ecosystem, in order to provide the best experience for all users globally.” For now, Huawei users will not be affected by the ban and can continue using their phones and updating them as usual. Just in case you were wondering, you cannot return your Huawei smartphone to the network you bought it from as, according to law, sellers cannot be held liable or responsible for external events that are out of their control. The bottom line is that you may never need to sell or dump your Huawei smartphone as the ban could be lifted even before the grace period runs out should Trump’s trade negotiations with China move ahead amicably.

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