Modular smartphones are all the rage at the moment, and Huawei’s budget smartphone arm Honor is expected to join those ranks Wednesday, according to rumors. However, its entrant will be somewhat odd: the base device will include no speaker or camera, leaving the consumer to purchase those modules separately.
Huawei has been rumored to be working on a type of modular smartphone for some time, however insiders in China only found out recently that it was launching Wednesday under the Honor sub-brand. While no pricing details have yet leaked, we at least know some of its potential specifications.
The phone will feature a curved display manufactured by Samsung, and is expected to support Huawei’s new fast-charging technology which is able to charge the battery to half-capacity in just five minutes. Functionality is customized through the addition of attachments, including the camera and speaker which won’t be included with the base device.
It’s not quite clear what Huawei is trying to go for when it comes to this device. Honor has made its mark by offering decently featured smartphones at a price few can beat, and so far modular phones remain expensive overall. We also don’t know what attachments will be boxed with the device.
There’s no details on what Huawei plans to include with the base device, nor a list of what attachments will be available. Until we know that — which looks to be as early as Wednesday — it’s really hard to say what the strategy is with Honor’s latest budget smartphone.
One thing we’ve seen in our own reviews of modular devices that is a problem area for modular phones is the price of the modules themselves: for example, the modules for the Lenovo Moto Z can easily run into the hundreds of dollars. Perhaps Huawei plans to undercut the competition here.
In other words — you’re going to want to stay tuned.
