Huawei Unveils the P50: Huge 50MP Camera Bumps, Improved Tech

Huawei has announced two of its latest flagship smartphones — the Huawei P50 and P50 Pro — which will have a 50-megapixel main camera and be the first major phone series to launch with the company’s own HarmonyOS.

The Huawei P50 and P50 Pro will join the brand’s P Series product line. First teased during the HarmonyOS 2 online launch event, the company says that the P50 is set to deliver a “revamped camera experience” with a strong focus on photography technology. Huawei says that these new smartphones bring perfect image clarity, high dynamic range, and improved smart snapshot capabilities.

According to The Verge, due to the ongoing sanctions imposed by the US — which have also contributed to the absence of 5G in the P50 Series — some of the models have Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 888 processor, while others have by Huawei’s own Kirin chips. The debuted phones have what is best described as a sleek design with a 6.6-inch 120Hz 1228p OLED display for the P50 Pro and a slightly smaller 6.5-inch 90Hz 1224p OLED display for the P50.

Richard Yu, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Huawei Consumer BG, believes that the new series represents “a new chapter in Huawei’s history of camera excellence, as well as a paradigm shift in mobile photography, aesthetic design, and all-scenario experiences.” Thanks to the incorporation of multiple cameras — three for P50 and four for P50 Pro — users will get to benefit from a variety of photography options.

Building on the previous Huawei P40 Series, which debuted the XD Fusion Image Engine that the company says helps deliver better image quality, the company has now launched XD Fusion Pro, which comes as an improved solution of the imaging technology for enhanced close-ups, zoom range, image clarity, and more. For video shooters, the P50 series supports 4K video recording across the full focal range and has a new AIS Pro image stabilization to help capture better handheld videos.

Both P50 and P50 Pro have a 50-megapixel main camera and a 13-megapixel selfie camera, with P50 also housing a 12-megapixel telephoto with a five-times optical zoom, and a 13-megapixel ultrawide camera, while P50 Pro has a 65-megapixel telephoto with a 3.5-times optical zoom, a 40-megapixel monochrome, and a 13-megapixel ultra-wide camera. Huawei has typically leaned heavily on its imaging technology, so it stands to reason that the same will be the case here and that the company has packed the smartphones with considerable photo-taking prowess.

The P50 Series will be powered by HarmonyOS 2, Huawei’s own operating system, compared to past models that have run on Android. The new deciecs are currently only slated for release for the Chinese market, and no expectations for their release elsehwere have been noted. The Huawei P50 starts at 4,488 yuan (about $695) with eight gigabytes of RAM and 128 gigabytes of storage, and 5,988 yan ($927) for the P50 Pro which also ships with a baseline eight gigabytes of RAM and 128 gigabytes of storage. The P50 supports up to 256 gigabytes of storage and the P50 Pro can hold up to 512 gigabytes. Both models will go on sale in September.