Huawei finished off its big Harmony OS 2 launch event with the first official look at its upcoming flagship P50 smartphone – and there’s a lot to take in.
The Huawei P50 has long been rumoured to come with a striking camera housing on the back and Huawei confirmed it is indeed going in that direction.
The snaps shown of the phone during the streamed event all focussed on the back. And as you can see from the image below, the back of the P50, at least in the angles we can see, is taken up by a hefty camera array.
This is a bold move and the internet already has a lot of takes on Huawei’s decision, but what it does make very clear is that the P50 will be all about the camera. You don’t have a camera module like this if you’re not pushing mobile photography forward in a sizeable way. Well, I hope you don’t anyway…
Focussing on the camera isn’t something new for Huawei and it has been the standout features on the P-series phones for years. It feels more important than ever with the P50 series as it’ll be the first Huawei phone to push the Harmony OS 2 software.
As Huawei moves further away from Android and Google services, the unique features of the phone become more important to try and make sure people don’t plump for other Android phones instead.
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Rumours so far have suggested at least one member of the Huawei P50 family will ship with a Sony IMX800 1-inch camera sensor. Having a sensor bigger than anything else on the market (aside from Sharp Aquos R6, which is exclusive to Japan) would be a massive headline-grabbing addition and could make this the best camera phone around.
Along with these images of the P50, Huawei’s event also showed Harmony OS 2 – the software that will most likely power the upcoming flagship phone. I’ve been using Harmony OS 2 for a few days now on the MatePad Pro tablet and there is certainly some potential here, even if the question about app support still remains.
There’s a greater focus on widget than you’d find on a standard Android device and it helps the homescreen feel alive, rather than just a rigid grid of apps.
When will we see the Huawei P50?
During the event, Huawei Consumer Business Group CEO Richard Yu said a “launch date has not been set but we are trying to figure out how to make this great product available to you”.
This comment seems to imply the phone is ready to go but certainly casts doubt upon a release date anytime soon. Whenever we do see the P50 get an official release, hopefully it’s another camera king for Huawei.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
