The Huawei P50 Pocket, the company’s fourth folding smartphone, will be released globally, and will be joined by the P50 Pro. We’re going to talk about both, but let’s start with the P50 Pocket. You may have already read about it, and that’s because it was announced in China at the end of December 2021, at which time it wasn’t clear whether the phone would make it any further globally.
Huawei now says the Pocket will get a phased release internationally in two versions. The standard phone will cost 1,299 euros, which is about $1,465, while the Premium Edition with a special design costs 1,599 euros, or about $1,800. A U.S. release almost certainly won’t happen, but you’d be able to import one, though it won’t support all LTE bands and doesn’t have 5G at all. Its main rival, the similarly shaped Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3, starts at $999, and comes with Google Play plus a local warranty. For comparison, it costs 1,049 euros in Europe.
No 5G, but robust hardware
The global launch of the P50 Pocket doesn’t bring with it any change in specification, meaning it still uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor. It remains very capable, but inside the Pocket, it is joined only by a 4G modem and not a 5G modem. This aside, the P50 Pocket has plenty of things going for it.
It opens to show a 6.9-inch OLED screen with a 21:9 aspect ratio and a 120Hz refresh rate, while on the outside is a small, and rather cute, 1.04-inch circular cover screen under the camera module. It consists of a 40-megapixel main camera, a 13MP wide-angle camera, and a 32MP Super Spectrum camera. It has an unusual Fluorescence Mode, where colors are accentuated for a very different look. Other features include a 4,000mAh battery with 40-watt SuperCharge fast charging, face unlock, a fingerprint sensor, and a choice of a white finish or a special Premium Edition in gold.
P50 Pro also goes global
The P50 Pocket isn’t the only phone Huawei is releasing globally. Remember the P50 Pro? It was announced in July 2021 and has now been given a release date outside China. It will cost 1,199 euros, or about $1,350. The specification is the same as the model revealed last year, and it is also powered by a Snapdragon 888 with 4G. The family resemblance between the P50 Pro and P50 Pocket is evident when you look at the unusual circular camera module.
Both smartphones use Huawei’s own HarmonyOS software and do not come with Google Mobile Services or Google Play. Instead, they use the Huawei App Gallery and a selection of Huawei apps to cover essentials like navigation. While the amount and usefulness of apps available has improved, big-name apps, including many social networks, are still missing.
The final release dates have not been confirmed at the time as of this writing. Huawei says the P50 Pro and P50 Pocket will be available to buy in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific, but does not provide specific regions.
