Difficult times lie ahead Huawei. More than a year had passed since Trump’s administration blacklisted the Chinese brand and deprived it of using basically any American tech on board, software, or hardware. Nevertheless, Huawei has maintained its phone release schedule more or less intact, despite the lack of Google apps and services, and the ever-tightening supply of components. With Biden’s administration now willing to reevaluate Huawei’s place on the blacklist, there’s a chance for a renaissance of the Chinese brand phones in the West.
Huawei phones continue to offer great hardware and premium design and after the P40 series, the logical successor is shaping out to be one very interesting device. In this article, we explore everything we know about the upcoming Huawei P50 phone, based on leaks, rumors, and conventional spycraft.
Rumors about Huawei P50 are a bit scarce at the moment - the only real report comes from the Korean media TheElec, and hints toward a late March 2021 announcement. If Huawei wants to follow its usual P/Mate cycle, it’s safe to assume that the P50 lineup will be unveiled this spring indeed.
Huawei P50 Price
$900 for the P50 model (6GB/128GB)
$1,100 for the P50 Pro (8GB/256GB)
This one is a bit tricky, as the Huawei P50 most likely won’t come to the US. Judging by the pricing of the P40 series, we’re probably looking at a price tag of around $900. Although the P40 costs just 4,488 Yuan (roughly 632 US Dollars) in China, its price in Europe is way higher at 799 euro. Taking into account that Huawei was blocked from receiving cutting-edge chips from TSMC, there may be shortages and the price may actually be higher.
Huawei P50 Specs
The P50 will sport the Kirin 9000, the second 5nm chip used on a smartphone after the iPhone 12 series' A14 Bionic. It also will come with 6/8GB of memory and 128/256GB of storage. According to the latest reports, 9 million Kirin 9000 SoCs were apparently shipped to Huawei by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) before a US ban went into effect. There are some speculations that Huawei won’t be able to equip the whole P50 lineup with the Kirin 9000 and would have to seek alternatives from MediaTek (Dimensity).
Huawei P50 Design
The main change in design compared to the P40 series might be the use of different curvatures on the display throughout the P50 lineup. The vanilla P50 model will feature a less-curved glass, almost flat on the sides (much like the Galaxy S20 and S20+), while the P50 Pro will sport a waterfall display with aggressive curved sides (similar to the Mate 40 Pro).
The design of the camera bump on the back also provides an opportunity for design shifts, as it might morph into a completely different animal (read further for details). Otherwise, we’re looking at the same glass sandwich design we’re familiar with, with probably some fancy textures and colors on the back panel of the phone.
Huawei P50 Display
It is expected that the Huawei P50 will be equipped with a 6.1-inch to 6.2-inch AMOLED display while the P50 Pro will feature a 6.6-inch AMOLED display. A 6.8-inch AMOLED screen will adorn the P50 Pro Plus. The P50 screen will be slightly curved or flat while the P50 Pro display will have the waterfall dropping off on each side. The P50 Pro Plus reportedly carries a quad curved display.
Huawei P50 Camera
The camera situation is also quite complicated. There are basically two big render leaks that show different camera systems on the back. One leak shows an oval-shaped system in the upper left corner of the back panel, while the other portrays a more traditional rectangular P40-like camera system.
As for the sensors and lenses themselves - it’s still early days but there are some rumors pointing at a quad-camera system, featuring a 50 MP, f/1.9, (wide) main shooter, an 8 MP, f/4.4, periscope telephoto lens with 10x optical zoom, an 8 MP, f/2.4, second telephoto lens, and a 40 MP ultrawide snapper.
Huawei P50 Battery life
4,000mAh for the P50 model
4,200mAh for the P50 Pro
4,500mAh for the P50 Pro+
You can see the different battery capacities above, although these numbers are quite speculative at the moment. It seems that Huawei will increase the battery capacity on the smallest model compared to its predecessor (the P40 sports a 3,800mAh battery) while keeping the same battery size on the Pro model. We can expect the whole P50 lineup to support fast charging up to 66W, wireless charging as well as reverse charging.
Mariyan, a tech enthusiast with a background in Nuclear Physics and Journalism, brings a unique perspective to PhoneArena. His childhood curiosity for gadgets evolved into a professional passion for technology, leading him to the role of Editor-in-Chief at PCWorld Bulgaria before joining PhoneArena. Mariyan's interests range from mainstream Android and iPhone debates to fringe technologies like graphene batteries and nanotechnology. Off-duty, he enjoys playing his electric guitar, practicing Japanese, and revisiting his love for video games and Haruki Murakami's works.
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