On Monday, phone maker Honor introduced its new mid-range flagship models Honor 90 and 90 Pro in China. The lineup is the successor to last year’s Honor 80 series and features a 200MP camera sensor, a quad-curved screen, a 5,000mAh battery, and the Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset. It is priced at RMB 2,499 ($350) for the standard model with 12GB + 256GB RAM. 

Honor also announced that the two devices will have GMS (Google Mobile Services) included in the global versions. 

Why it matters: As China approaches a major mid-year shopping festival known as 618 (June 18), many phone makers are releasing new affordable models to boost sales. In addition to Honor, Oppo launched its mid-range Reno10 series on May 24, while Vivo will unveil its Vivo S17 series on May 31. 

Details: As part of Honor’s new mid-range phone line, the Honor 90 series boasts a high-performance imaging system and display.

• Both models adopt a 200MP sensor for the primary rear camera and a 50MP selfie camera, while the Pro version features an additional 32MP portrait camera. 
• The Honor 90 features a 6.7-inch OLED curved-screen with 2,664 x 1,200 pixels, 1,600 nits peak brightness, 1 billion colors, and a 120Hz refresh rate. It is powered by the Snapdragon 7 Gen1 chipset. The Pro variant offers a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset and a 6.78 inch display with a resolution of 2,700 x 1,224 pixels. 
• Both models support what Honor says is the industry’s first 3,840Hz ultra-high frequency pulse-width modulation (PWM) dimming technology to protect eye health. PWM is a common dimming feature used to adjust the current in white-LED driver devices. The company claims the phone is the most eye-health-friendly device on the market. 
• The Honor 90 Pro packs a massive 5,000mAh battery and supports 90W fast charging. Honor said it takes 15 minutes to reach 56% power. The 90 model only supports 66W fast charging. 
• Both models go on sale on June 7 in China; their global launch date has yet to be disclosed.

Context: Due to a slowdown in domestic consumption, China’s smartphone shipments declined 8% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023, reaching their lowest level since the first quarter of 2020, according to Counterpoint. 

• The top five vendors in the first quarter of 2023 were Apple (with a 20% market share), Oppo (18%), Vivo (16%), Honor (16%), and Xiaomi (12%).
• Honor was established by Huawei as a budget smartphone brand in 2013. It was sold by Huawei in late 2020, partly in an attempt to ensure it avoided US sanctions targeting the Chinese telecommunications giant.