The Huawei P50 Series is set to launch on July 29, as confirmed by Huawei’s CEO, Richard Yu. Based on the company’s previous smartphones, you can expect to see a P50, P50 Pro and P50 Pro Plus and maybe a Lite version too.
In a Weibo post, Yu claimed the phones will mark a “new era of mobile imaging,” alluding to the quad-camera system on the back with Leica optics — all contained in that rather striking camera bump.
And while this launch date is China-only for now, Huawei has also confirmed a launch event on Twitter for the same day, so we’ll find out a lot more about these phones before a global release.
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Huawei P50 Series: What we know
There have been a few P50 leaks and even a tease from Huawei during its HarmonyOS live stream, so we know a bit about the device.
Starting with the design, it’s quite something! On paper, it boasts a standard glass and aluminum sandwich design that Huawei has hyped up as “lightweight” and “iconic,” but the big talking point (emphasis on big) is that camera bump.
Two gigantic circles: the top one housing three sensors, the bottom with a fourth and flash, along with a second flash on the body itself. While we don’t know specific megapixel counts, the teaser video also confirms a partnership with Leica on the optics.
At the end of the teaser stream, Yu said the company was “trying to figure out how to make this great product available to you.”
That, to us, sounded a lot like a reference to the global semiconductor shortage. Given the news of a launch date and event, it appears Huawei may have resolved the issue.
Whatever that solution is, we’ll find out for sure at the event, but it’s going to be further confused by the US sanctions on 5G components being supplied to Huawei.
Our sister site, TechRadar, reported on rumors of a modified 4G-only version of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 chip being used in the P50, which would result in a cheaper flagship. But for the bigger, premium models in the Pro and Pro Plus, there's reason to believe seeing these feature the Huawei-made Kirin 9000 chipsets inside.
For now, we’ll wait and see! Stay tuned to Laptop Mag, as we’ll bring you the latest on the Huawei P50 Series as we hear it.
