Honor 90 and 90 Pro: formalized in China, smartphones offer 200 Mpx photography

We begin to know the habits of Honor. The ex-sister brand of Huawei, freed from its fold since 2020, formalizes two series of encrypted smartphones each year, of which only one – or to be precise certain selected models – is marketed in Europe. The latest is none other than the Honor 70 range, sold since the fall of 2022 in France, the 80 models announced shortly after not having made their way to our countries. The brand is now formalizing the range that will undoubtedly succeed the 70s, namely the 90 series: as soon as it was presented in China, the brand specified that the smartphones would benefit from a version under GMS, i.e. Google Mobile Services, which confirms their vocation to enter the international market.

A 200 MP main photo sensor

If we still do not know which specific models will be sold in France, the characteristics of the Honor 90 and 90 Pro are well known. The manufacturer thus equips the 90 Pro, its best-endowed device, with a 6.78-inch screen inherited from its previous generations. It is still an Oled panel displaying 2700 x 1224 pixels, promising a brightness of 1000 nits and a refresh rate of 120 Hz. Under its hood sits a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip, which had already been put to use within the Honor 80 Pro. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which has been hitting the mark in smartphones that have been equipped with it since the start of the year, therefore remains the prerogative of the Magic 5 Pro in Honor’s catalog. Note that the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is here flanked by 12 to 16 GB of RAM, while 256 to 512 GB of storage are included in the device, which also has a 5000 mAh battery. This benefits from a 100 W charge, compared to 66 W on the Honor 70 and 80.

The Honor 90 Pro, in line with its predecessors in terms of display or power, is distinguished by its photo component. The mobile is indeed equipped with a main sensor of 200 megapixels, unprecedented in the universe of the brand, and flanked by a wide-angle lens f / 1.9. Such sensors have proven to be complex to master, and it is to be hoped that Honor will prove capable of taming them. Anyway, this sensor is completed by a 12 Mpx module (ultra wide-angle and macro) and another 32 Mpx (f / 2.4 telephoto lens, with optical stabilization). What the smartphone loses on the definition side on its ultra wide-angle (50 Mpx on the Honor 70), it gains it on the level of its telephoto module. It remains to be seen whether this choice is wise.

The Honor 90 offers a slightly different technical sheet. Its 6.7-inch Oled screen reveals a definition of 2664 x 1200 pixels, and it is powered by a Snapdragon 7 Gen 1, very little represented in smartphones from competing brands. Qualcomm’s chip is accompanied by 12 or 16 GB of RAM, as on the 90 Pro, with the same amount of storage and the same battery. Its charge remains fast, but is content with a power of 66 W. Finally, we notice that the photo block of the device is based on the same main module of 200 Mpx, on a similar ultra-wide-angle module, but that the telephoto lens gives way to a 2 Mpx module dedicated to capturing depth.

What about prices? Smartphones are announced in China from June 7: it will take 2499 yuan (about 330 € excluding tax at the current exchange rate) for the Honor 90, and 3299 yuan (435 € excluding tax) for the Honor 90 Pro. The availability of the series in Europe has yet to be specified.