In an effort to save its sub-brand from the supply chain problems that threatened its smartphone business after the US trade ban, Huawei sold Honor last November to a consortium backed by the Chinese government. With the View40, Honor launches its first phone as an independent company – along with a new brand strategy embodied by the slogan Go Beyond.
Unlike Honor’s recent flagship products, it’s not powered by Huawei’s high-end chip and it has to make do with a MediaTek Dimensity 1000+ processor. The design is largely identical to last year’s View 30, with a rectangular camera module on the back and a dual punch-hole cutout on the front. However, the 6.72-inch OLED display features a waterfall design and the sharply curved edges are new to the series.
In terms of camera, the Honor View 40 features a 50-megapixel primary camera (with RYYB sensor), an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens, and a 2-megapixel macro lens.
Other features include a 4,000 mAh battery that can be charged to 66W and can be charged at 50W using the wireless charger. The device runs on Android 10 with the Magic UI 4.0. As of today, two configurations are available in China for the Honor View 40. The 8/128GB variant is available at the price of 3,599 yen and 3,999 yen for 8/256GB variant. Details on global availability are not yet available.
Honor plans to work with several vendors now that it has emerged from Huawei’s shadow, including AMD, Intel, and Microsoft, but U.S regulators could yet put a stop to this.
