While it’s true that Huawei’s ongoing dispute with American authorities means that it doesn’t currently have access to the Google Play store – which hampers its phone’s software experience for many – there can be no question about the quality of its hardware.
In 2020, we were impressed with the Huawei P40 series, but what does 2021 have in store? We look ahead to what you can expect from the rumoured Huawei P50 series.
When will the Huawei P50 be released?
For the past few years, Huawei has kept a regular release cycle, with the P20, P30 and P40 lines all announced at the end of March and released a week or so later. Among other things, tipster @RODENT950 on Twitter specifically cites an arrival time for the P50 line of between 26 March and 28 March, right at the tail end of the month.
And if anyone still wonders about those models.
Standard – new Lite
Pro – new standard
Pro+ – new ProP50 K9000E
P50 Pro/Pro+ K9000— Teme (特米)😷 (@RODENT950)
February 15, 2021
Since then the same leaker has tipped that the phones will feature a new Sony camera sensor to be unveiled in April – more on that below – which suggests that the planned late March launch may have been delayed slightly.
Whether the P50 is set to release internationally or reach retail in China exclusively remains to be seen.
One evolving aspect to the P50 line’s release is potential scarcity, with reports from both and suggesting that Huawei has placed significantly smaller orders for components for its 2021 smart devices.
NAR has learnt that Huawei has apparently informed its suppliers that its smartphone component orders may be reduced by as much as 60% this year; ordering enough parts to manufacture between 70 million and 80 million smartphones, down from 189 million in 2020 and 240 million in 2019 (as cited by ).
CSJ also suggests that the manufacture and delivery of Huawei’s devices could suffer from delays this year as well, however, new a new report from Chinese site suggests that, while the P50 series is indeed now likely to be delayed, the reason for this isn’t a manufacturing or supply problem but rather a software issue; stemming from the company’s own HarmonyOS, which we dive into more on later in this piece.
And, in case you were wondering, it’s thought this shift all stems from the ongoing effects of the US entity list, which so far hasn’t been altered under the Biden administration.
How much will the Huawei P50 cost?
Pricing has been reasonably consistent for the last few years, as you can see from this breakdown of the previous models.
- P20 – £599/€699
- P30 – £699/€799
- P40 – £699/€799
Hopefully, Huawei will stick with this when the P50 arrives, offering it for £699/€799. Of course, if you’re happy to spend more on your device, then you can always move up to the Pro or Pro+ models, which offer additional features. In the P40 lineup, the prices for these models are £799 and £999 respectively, and the 2021 catalogue will likely walk a similar line.
To see where the extra money goes, read our Huawei P40 vs P40 Pro vs P40 Pro+ comparison.
What features and specs can we expect to see in the Huawei P50?
There’s still a bit of time before the Huawei P50’s rumoured arrival, but there are a variety of sites now reporting specs and features that they claim have been leaked by contacts within Huawei.
Processor
South Korean site , cites “people with direct knowledge of the matter,” suggesting that, despite the fact that in August 2020, Huawei President that the company may no longer be able to source Kirin chips after 2020 thanks to the US restrictions, the P50 Pro and P50 Pro+ will arrive with the Kirin 9000 that first appeared in the , and has been seen more recently in the Mate X2 foldable.
The aforementioned @RODENT950, meanwhile, is the first to suggest that the base Huawei P50 will instead use the marginally less powerful Kirin 9000E SoC.
Whether Huawei has found another manufacturer, or simply stockpiled enough Kirin 9000 chips already to use them in the P50 Pro and Pro+, we’ll find out. The 9000 is an impressive design based on a 5nm die with 5G integration, which should bring improved performance and battery life over the P40 series.
Should the American interference prove too much, then it’s possible that Huawei will move from its Kirin processors to MediaTek, although there has been nothing to confirm this so far.
Display
Of the rumours we’ve seen, there’s been little agreement on how large the panel on the P50 will be. Some state 6.22in with a 2340×1080 resolution, while others that it will be 6.58in with 2640×1200.
Prolific leaker of what’s claimed to be the P50 Pro, allegedly measuring in at 6.6in but in near-identical dimensions to the standard 6.1in P40. Based on this, it’s possible that the P50 will measure in at 6.22in while the P50 Pro will sport a larger 6.6in screen.
OnLeaks later expanded on the P50’s leaked spec sheet, with mention of a flat 6.3in display with a centrally-positioned single hole-punch selfie camera and an in-display fingerprint sensor, set into a metal-framed, glass-backed body, measuring 156.7mm x 74mm x 8.3mm (10.6mm if you include the rear camera bump) with stereo speakers into the top and bottom.
Those hoping for 120Hz refresh rates look likely to be disappointed though, as even the recently announced Mate 40 Pro only comes with a 90Hz panel. All the rumours we’ve seen so far seem to suggest that this will be the case with the P50. While this will be an improvement on the P40 which only managed 60Hz, it means the Huawei phones will be missing a flagship feature found on many of their rivals, particularly the OnePlus 8T and Samsung Galaxy S21.
Cameras
Cameras have long been an impressive area for Huawei. On the P40 we were blown away by the quality of the images from the compliment of 50Mp f/1.9 wide-angle, 8Mp f/2.2 3x telephoto and 16Mp f/2.0 ultrawide optics.
The big shift with the next P Series cameras looks to be the addition of a ‘liquid lens’, according to numerous Chinese sources.
As spotted by , established Chinese tipster made mention of the technology, likely to be paired to Sony’s rumoured IMX782 image sensor. Meanwhile, a post on , stated that numerous sources have suggested Huawei will be implementing the technology in its devices “for the first time next year.”
As for what a liquid lens actually does, it’ll supposedly allow for significantly faster autofocus speeds – down to a matter of milliseconds – akin to the human eye. It’ll also be able to deliver superior image stabilisation and better yet, should prove more durable than existing equivalent camera systems.
Due to these strengths, it’s thought that Huawei will use this feature on the P50 line’s telephoto sensors, as opposed to the primary camera.
The main camera is set for upgrades too though. It’s tipped to feature the IMX800 sensor, which RODENT950 says will be announced in April. This is expected to be the first 1″ smartphone image sensor, making it the largest sensor you’ll find in any phone – a huge factor in image quality, especially in low light.
Main + ultra wide + tele
Main + Ultra wide + periscope
Main + Ultra wide + tele + periscope + ToF— Teme (特米)😷 (@RODENT950)
February 24, 2021
They also suggested what could be the camera lineup across the range, with the main change being the telephoto/zoom configuration across the three phones, along with a ToF for the Pro+. This is likely the same 5Mp camera mentioned in some reports, to aid with depth perception and focusing for portrait and night modes.
The original renders shared by @OnLeaks seem to sport a single front-facing hole-punch camera on the alleged P50 Pro, down from the dual offering of the P40 range. This makes sense, given the amount of screen real estate a dual-hole-punch takes up, but there aren’t any details about what the single front-facing camera might offer right now.
As for what the rear liquid lens system might actually look like, OnLeaks produced another trove of seemingly leaked and imagery in mid-March, showcasing one of the most unusual looking camera setups of any smartphone in recent memory.
The images show two large circular elements, one above the other, set within what looks like an otherwise conventional camera bump with a single LED flash.
What OnLeaks describes as an ‘egg-shaped hump’ doesn’t clearly show any visible camera lenses, as you’d typically see on the back of a phone, with the circular elements seemingly opaque. It’s posited that these are the liquid lenses and that they actually cover more than one camera sensor each.
In the video department, the P40 could already capture video at 4K/60fps, so there’s not much room for improvement there, but Huawei could implement software enhancements to bolster the already excellent stabilisation and focussing in video. Whatever arrangement Huawei decides to offer in the P50, we’re sure it will be one of the best around.
Software
At the time of writing, the US ban on Huawei has had its biggest impact on the software available for its phones. Google Play Services are not an option, so accessing the Google Play store is off the table, unless you want to use a rather technical (and potentially unsecure) workaround. Whether this changes or not in the foreseeable future is uncertain.
In the meantime, Huawei has been working on its own operating system, HarmonyOS, which, according to , may see its out-of-box debut on the P50 series. The company’s foldable Mate X2 is already cited to be the first device to receive an update to HarmonyOS 2.0 in April but the P50 line looks set to come pre-installed with the platform from the get-go.
For a roundup of devices that the Huawei P50 will be up against, take a look at our guides to the best smartphones and best Chinese smartphones.
