HONOR‘s latest number series is looking like a major leap forward for the brand. The HONOR 500 Pro and HONOR 500 have debuted in China with flagship-tier performance and battery capacities that dwarf the competition.

HONOR 500 Pro

The headliner of the lineup is clearly designed for those who want near-flagship performance without the premium price tag. At its heart beats the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite, which delivers the same top-tier processor found in much more expensive flagships from the last generation.

Visually, the HONOR 500 Pro impresses with a 6.55-inch quad-curved OLED display. It pushes a 1.5K resolution and a smooth 120Hz refresh rate, but the real highlight is the eye-searing 6,000 nits peak brightness for HDR content.

SEE ALSO: HONOR 400 Pro 5G review: A hidden gem in the sub-flagship space? and Our HONOR 400 5G review video

The camera system is equally robust. The Crystal Island module on the back houses a triple-camera setup, led by a massive 200-megapixel primary sensor with optical image stabilization. It’s joined by a 50-megapixel telephoto lens offering 3x optical zoom and OIS, plus a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera that doubles as a macro shooter. A 50-megapixel selfie snapper sits up front.

Powering all this is a silicon-carbon battery with a huge 8,000mAh capacity. Despite the size, the smartphone supports 80-watt wired charging and 50-watt wireless charging to get you back up to speed quickly. It’s also built tough, boasting IP68, IP69, and IP69K ratings for superior water and dust resistance.

HONOR 500 Pro specs

• 6.55-inch Straight AMOLED display, eye-protection technology, ultra-slim 1.05mm bezel
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite 5G processor
• Adreno 830 GPU
• 12GB/16GB RAM (configuration varies by region)
• 256GB/512GB/1TB storage
• Triple 200-megapixel AI Ultra-Clear main camera (1/1.4-inch sensor) with 50-megapixel telephoto (3x optical zoom, SOIS) and 12-megapixel ultra-wide sensor
• 50-megapixel front camera (supports Live portrait modes)
• Under-display fingerprint reader
• 8,000mAh silicon-carbon battery with 80-watt wired and 50-watt wireless charging (supports 27W wired reverse charging)
• IP68/IP69/IP69K ratings
• MagicOS 10
• Colors: Black, Silver, Blue, Pink

HONOR 500

The standard HONOR 500 offers a similar experience but trims a few features to hit a lower price point. It retains the premium build and the same 6.55-inch OLED display as the Pro model, ensuring you do not miss out on visual quality. Under the hood, however, it swaps the Elite chip for the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4. This is still a highly capable processor, essentially a slightly underclocked version of the flagship silicon, which should be more than enough for most users.

The camera setup sees a slight downgrade as well. You still get the impressive 200-megapixel main shooter and the 12-megapixel ultrawide lens, but the dedicated telephoto unit is absent. The front camera remains a high-res 50-megapixel sensor. Like its big brother, the vanilla model packs that large 8,000mAh battery and supports 80-watt wired fast charging, but it drops the wireless-charging support found on the Pro. It matches the durability of the latter with the same IP68, IP69, and IP69K ratings.

HONOR 500 specs

• 6.55-inch Straight AMOLED display, eye-protection technology, ultra-slim 1.05mm bezel
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 5G processor
• Adreno 825 GPU
• 12GB/16GB RAM
• 256GB/512GB storage
• Dual 200-megapixel AI Ultra-Clear main camera (1/1.4-inch sensor) with 12-megapixel ultra-wide sensor
• 50-megapixel front camera
• Under-display fingerprint reader
• 8,000mAh silicon-carbon battery with 80-watt wired charging (supports 27W wired reverse charging)
• IP68/IP69/IP69K ratings
• MagicOS 10
• Colors: Black, Silver, Blue, Pink

Prices and availability

The HONOR 500 Series is currently available for preorder in China. While we wait for global availability details, here is how the Chinese pricing converts to Philippine peso and U.S. dollar.

• The standard HONOR 500 starts at roughly ¥2,699, or around P22,400 or $381, for the 12GB/256GB model. The 12GB/512GB variant is priced at ¥2,999 (P24,800 or $423) and the 16GB/512GB version is ¥3,299 (P27,300 or $466).
• The HONOR 500 Pro commands a premium, starting at ¥3,599 (P29,800 or $508) for the 12GB/256GB variant. The 12GB/512GB model costs ¥3,899 (P32,300 or $550), while the 16GB/512GB version is ¥4,199 (P34,800 or $593). Finally, the top-tier 16GB/1TB unit goes for ¥4,799 (P39,800 or $677).

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