Huawei announced the launch of its new range of P50 series smartphones, featuring water- and dust-proofing and dual stereo speakers but not 5G connectivity. The phones are powered by the company's own flagship Kirin 9000 chip or the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 4G, both using a 5nm process, and feature the company's in-house HarmonyOS2 operating system rather than Android.
The standard P50 has a 6.5 inch display with a 90hz refresh rate while the P50 Pro premium model has a 6.6 inch curved-glass display featuring a 120 Hz refresh rate. The P50 Pro has four rear cameras while the standard model has three.
Tech website The Verge quoted Huawei executives at the launch event as saying US sanctions against the company means it has had to remove the 5G module from the chips fitted to its phones. US-based Qualcomm received authorisation in November 2020 to supply Huawei with 4G-capable processors.
Huawei is marketing the P50 phones with heavy emphasis on their photography capabilities, notably the Pro model which features a 200x zoom, a wide-angle lens with an equivalent focal length of 13 mm and is capable of macro shots as close as 2.5 cm from the lens.
The P50 series is available in colours including Cocoa Gold, Charm Pink, Golden Black and Pearl White. The Pro model can be purchased in a Dynamic Sky Blue variant, featuring a motion effect on the back panel.
