Updated on 08-28-2015 by Andy Boxall: Added in news of the Honor 7’s launch in the UK.
Honor 7 launched in the UK
Initially, the Honor 7 was only set to launch in China, but a UK launch was rumored by Android Authority. In late August, Huawei put the Honor 7 up for sale in the UK through its own Vmall online store. The phone will normally cost £250 (about $380), but between August 27 and August 31, anyone who pre-orders the device will get £40 off, making it a very tempting buy.
It’s the 16GB model on sale, and you can choose between grey and silver color schemes. There’s no indication when the device will ship at the moment. If you happen to be in China, the Honor 7 will cost you just $322 for the 16GB model, $355 for the dual SIM LTE model, or $400 for the the 64 GB Honor 7.
20-megapixel camera leads the spec sheet
Just like the rumors predicted, the Honor 7 comes in a premium aluminum alloy casing and a variety of colors, including silver, dark gray, and gold. There’s a fingerprint sensor on the back of the sleek phone, which can be used to unlock the device, or with select banking and payment apps in China.
A 5.2-inch screen with a 1080p resolution and pixel density of 423ppi graces the front of the phone. While it’s not Quad HD like the screens you’d find on many flagship phones these days, it’s more than sufficient. The entire device is powered by an octa-core 64-bit Kirin 935 processor with a Mali-T628 GPU and 3GB of RAM. Huawei’s offering 16GB and 64GB storage options, and there’s even a MicroSD card slot, so you can expand the memory.
The Honor 7’s other big feature is its 20-megapixel camera with Phase Detection Auto Focus, an f/2.0 aperture, and a 6-lens setup. In addition to the powerful camera on the back of the device, Huawei’s added an 8-megapixel selfie camera with wide-angle lens on the front of the Honor 7. Although many manufacturers are adding even higher-resolution selfie cams to their devices, the Honor 7’s 8-megapixel shooter is still more powerful than most.
A 3100mAh battery with fast charging capabilities that allow it to juice up to 50 percent in an hour powers the phone. Naturally, Android 5.0 Lollipop is running on the device, but with Huawei’s EMUI 3.1 UI on top, you’d hardly know it.
Next page: All the rumors leading up to the official launch
Huawei may have two more phones hidden up its sleeve this year, and the pair could be along for a summer launch soon. The phone is the Honor 7, and there could be two different versions of the new device. Here’s everything we know so far.
Updated on 06-29-2015 by Malarie Gokey: Added report that one model will be all metal and the cheaper version will have a metal edge, but presumably, a plastic back. Also added possible price point.
One all-metal version and another with a metal frame
Recently, Huawei’s been of the mindset that two versions of the same phone are better than one — The P8, for example, came in two sizes. Now it seems that the Honor 7 will do the same. According to a Chinese report picked up by Phone Arena, the more high-end model will have a full metal build, while the cheaper version will have a rounded metal frame and a different back panel. The lower-end Honor 7 could have a plastic back, though the source isn’t clear on that point.
A fingerprint sensor for Android Pay
The first hints about the Honor 7 came from a post on Huawei’s official Weibo social network account in China, where a couple of images were shared, which may give away one of the key features of the new phone.
It’s highly likely the Honor 7 will have a fingerprint sensor built in. One of the teaser images shows a fingerprint-style number 7, along with a June 30 date underneath. Another teaser picture shows the number 7 being picked out by a scanning line. The recent launch of Android Pay has made fingerprint sensors a key feature for new phones to have, but this won’t be the first time Huawei has fitted one to a smartphone.
The Ascend Mate 7, which launched at the end of last year, has one under the camera lens on the rear panel. It can be used for unlocking the phone, and because it’ll recognize different prints, multiple accounts can be set up, helping keep work, home, and family use separate.
Decent specs for both models
While this is almost official confirmation of the Honor 7’s existence, the phone has already been leaked, so we have a good idea about its other specs. For example, the screen will probably measure 5-inches and have a 1080p resolution, while the processor could be a Kirin 935 oct-core chip with either 3GB or 4GB of RAM. The former version should have 16GB of storage space, while the later should have 64GB. A 13-megapixel camera is also expected.
According to Phone Arena, the lower-end Honor 7 will cost around $322 when it launches. There’s no word on the high-end model’s price. Huawei will launch its new phone in China, judging by the information on the teaser images, but it did release the Honor 6 in the UK and other parts of the world, meaning there’s a chance the Honor 7 may be treated in the same way.
We’ll bring you all the official news when it arrives, and keep you updated with rumors in the meantime.
Previous updates:
Updated on 06-29-2015 by Malarie Gokey: Added report that one model will be all metal and the cheaper version will have a metal edge, but presumably, a plastic back. Also added possible price point.
