Huawei decided to save the Honor brand by selling the company to a consortium of more than 30 agents and dealers. Now Honor is no longer a blacklisted company in the United States and can add Google’s services on all its Android smartphones, at least that’s what we believe.
Even so, Honor is unlikely to use Google Mobile Services (GMS), which is a collection of apps made by the search giant that help support functionality across devices, in China. The company’s new flagship smartphone, the V40 5G, lacks two important software pieces: Android 11 and GMS.
Instead, Honor V40 5G will ship in China with Magic UI 4.0 skin based on Android 10, but no Google Mobile Services. However, the international version of the V40 is expected to feature GMS to make it more appealing to customers.
Unfortunately, Honor V40 5G doesn’t look so “technologically new” on paper. Apart from the fact that it doesn’t even run Android 11, it comes with an older MediaTek Dimensity 1000+ chipset. The Chinese chipmaker announced earlier this week two new SoCs specifically designed for 5G flagship smartphones: Dimensity 1100 and 1200, but Honor is using neither.
The rest of the phone’s specs look decent for a high-end mid-tier smartphone: 6.72-inch FHD+ curved OLED display with 120Hz refresh rate and HDR10 support, 8GB RAM, 128GB or 256GB internal memory, and an in-display fingerprint scanner.
Also, Honor V40 5G features a triple camera setup (50MP+8MP+2MP) and a 16-megapixel selfie camera with color temperature sensor. The 4,000 mAh battery includes support for 66W fast wired charging and 50W fast wireless charging.
The international variant might cost a lot more, but in China, the Honor V40 5G will sell for as low as $555 (8/128GB). The 8/256GB is priced to sell for $620 and both models will be available in three color options: Midnight Black, Rose Gold, and Titanium Silver.
