HONOR 50: a long term review

A review after several months of using HONOR 50

Comments and photos by MarcH of the HONOR Club Germany

One of the most active fans ever in the HONOR communities, @MarcH_HonorFansGER  from Germany, asked me to share his in-depth test of HONOR 50, the new 5G smartphone including Google GMS Services, with the HONOR Global Club users. Below you will find the translation of his review accompanied by photos.

HONOR 50 is practically the successor of HONOR 20, launched on the market in 2019. Now, after the separation from Huawei, HONOR is back on the attack so as to be able to use modern 5G SoCs in addition to Google Services (GMS Google Mobile Service).

My trial version of the HONOR 50 is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G 5G processor with integrated Adreno-642L graphics unit with 6GB of RAM.

Body

HONOR 50 consists of a metal frame, the back and front are made of glass. The control elements sit firmly and firmly in their side housings. It is very easy to hold and immediately looks of the highest quality.

Specifications

HONOR 50 has the ability to use 2 NanoSIM cards with VoLTE and VoWifi. Unfortunately, there is no microSD ****. The USB-C connection for wired data transfer works in the USB 2.0 standard. Additional features are the Widevine L1 DRM and the Level 3 Camera2 API. Unfortunately there is no integrated notification LED and no 3.5mm jack connector, but this can be replaced externally via an adapter.

Software

The HONOR 50 uses Android 11 with HONOR's proprietary MAGIC UI 4.2 interface. Typical Google applications are also available and the PlayStore can be used in its entirety without any problems. It's commendable that HONOR doesn't install third-party apps, which means the UI is reminiscent of pure Android. Unfortunately, the audio player and video player need to be installed externally, I recommend using the "VLC Player" app.

Communication

In addition to GSM, 3G, LTE and 5G, HONOR 50 is also available for cellular connections. It supports LTE Cat18 and therefore reaches 1200Mbit / s in download and a maximum of 225Mbit / s in upload. For close range communication, the HONOR 50 has NFC, Bluetooth 5.2 and Wifi 6. In my test with the VF Station Wifi6 router I achieved an average transfer rate of 851Mbit / s and 765Mbit / s when receiving data packets. This means that the HONOR 50 is on average 20% faster than its competitors in this price range and equipment.

HONOR 50 uses GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and Beidou to determine its location. In my test with the "GPS Test" app, an accuracy of 3.7m to 4m was determined.

Telephony and communication quality

The installed telephony app offers very quick access to the numeric keypad, saved favorites and, of course, the contact list. In the voice quality self-test, the HONOR 50 produced a high volume for both callers who clearly heard the calling voice. AI for noise suppression also works very reliably in decreasing unwanted sounds.

Front camera (selfie camera)

At the front there is a 32MP selfie camera, which is qualitatively very good and also shows fine details and structures well. Colors in selfie mode can also be adjusted via various filters.

Main camera

A total of 4 lenses are used on the back: the main lens is equipped with 108MP and is supported by an 8MP ultra wide angle lens, a 2MP bokeh and a 2MP macro lens. The main cams shoot in detail, including strong colors. However, the wide-angle mode has slightly less contrast and a slight blur in difficult lighting conditions. To enhance AI-controlled standard photos, the HONOR 50 offers a Pro mode, in which focus, ISO values, shutter speed, lighting and white balance can be adjusted manually.

Video recordings

The highest video quality for TikTok, Instagram or Vloger is available thanks to 4K video resolution up to 60fps. Thanks to the multi-video function, shared videos can be recorded simultaneously with the front and rear cameras, even in perfect alternation.

Gaming

Thanks to the turbo GPU, 6GB of RAM and the Qualcomm Adreno 642L graphics unit, the HONOR 50 can be used for smooth gaming.

I have tested PUBG Mobile, Asphalt 9 and Armajet. HONOR 50 offers sufficient performance to cope with high graphics settings without lag or the like. Touchscreen play is smooth and, thanks to the design and weight of the HONOR 50, it's more than enjoyable. HONOR 50 scored 99.4% points in the 3DMark Wild Life Stress Test, the average in this price range is 95%.

Battery

In the test for normal average use, the HONOR 50 uses its 4300mAh for a total of 15 hours. I consider this consumption very good. Thanks to the included 66W power supply, HONOR 50 charges from 3% to 100% capacity in less than 43 minutes.

Conclusion

HONOR 50 is a high quality Android smartphone in its class. The quality corresponds to the typical HONOR standard: good workmanship and attractive design. Thanks to Google GMS Services and hardware features, as well as the camera, the HONOR 50 is a serious competitor for other smartphones in the upper middle class.

Good gaming performance, 5G and multi-video complete the package, including the 66W charging option.

Last but not least, some test images that were taken with the HONOR 50:

Another article by MarcH can be found at the link https://community.hihonor.com/global/topicdetail/topicId-74466/ "Camera Test: HONOR 50 vs HONOR 20 PRO"