

58 minutes ago4 min read
What You Need to Know
Honor has launched the Honor 500 and Honor 500 Pro in China with major upgrades in performance, display, and durability.
The series features a 200MP HP3 main camera; the Pro adds a 50MP IMX856 telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom and 100x digital zoom.
Additional highlights include Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, NFC, IR Blaster, 3D ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, and Honor’s E2 efficiency chip.
Honor 500 starts at ¥2699, while the Honor 500 Pro starts at ¥3599 for the 12GB+256GB variant.

The Honor 500 series has now been officially launched in China, and with powerful specifications, premium design, and extreme focus on efficiency and durability, it is already creating massive buzz. Honor has launched two models under this series: the Honor 500 and the Honor 500 Pro. Both these devices bring a plethora of flagship-grade upgrades while maintaining competitive pricing. From an ultra-bright OLED display to a massive 8000mAh battery, advanced camera hardware, next-gen connectivity, the Honor 500 series clearly looks to redefine value in the mid-premium smartphone segment.
First, the display on both the Honor 500 and Honor 500 Pro is a 6.55-inch 1.5K LTPS Flat OLED panel with a refresh rate of 120Hz; this provides extremely vivid colors and ultra-smooth visuals. The brightness has also been pushed further by Honor to unbelievable lengths, peaking at 6000 nits to keep the phones usable even under harsh sunlight. There's also an option for 1800 nits high brightness mode that keeps the luminance stable, along with 3840Hz PWM dimming to reduce eye strain. With ultra-narrow 1.05mm bezels, this sets up a very immersive and premium viewing experience, setting a strong foundation for multimedia consumption and gaming.
Another major highlight for the Honor 500 series is their performance. The standard Honor 500 will offer the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chipset, focused on power efficiency with strong performance across everyday tasks, gaming, and AI-driven features, while the more powerful Honor 500 Pro steps things up with the Snapdragon 8 Elite flagship-tier processor, promising significantly higher computing power, stronger GPU capabilities, and superior AI processing. Both phones run Android 16 with MagicOS 10, featuring enhanced animations, smarter resource management, improved privacy layers, and deeper AI integration throughout the interface.
Honor has given extra attention to the camera setup this year, too. The Honor 500 boasts a mighty dual-camera configuration with a 200MP Samsung HP3 main sensor with OIS and a 12MP ultra-wide-angle lens supporting as high as 30x digital zoom. With such a combination, you can expect very detailed shots, better stability, and improved low-light photography. The 50MP front camera secures sharp selfies and high-quality video calls. The main camera system of the Honor 500 Pro adds a dedicated 50MP IMX856 telephoto lens featuring 3x optical zoom and offering an awesome 100x digital zoom. That makes the Pro variant a true beast of cameras suitable for photography enthusiasts-the ones capturing faraway objects or playing with advanced mobile photography. Having another 50MP front camera on it, the Pro keeps flagship-grade clarity on both sides.
The biggest strengths of the Honor 500 series are indeed their battery life, as both phones house an enormous 8000mAh battery. Despite this massive battery capacity, these devices remain slim at 7.75mm and relatively light, weighing about 198g to 201g. The Honor 500 supports 80W wired fast charging and 27W reverse wired charging, fit for power users and travelers. The Honor 500 Pro keeps the same 80W wired charging but adds 50W fast wireless charging for more flexibility and convenience. Honor's E2 energy efficiency chip in both models and another C1+ RF enhancement chip in the Pro variant further contribute to better battery endurance and stronger network performance.
Durability is another standout point, as both devices boast of very high protection standards: IP69K, IP69, IP68, and IP66 ratings make them resistant to water jets, high-pressure environments, dust, and accidental splashes. It touts a 3D ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, IR blaster, USB 2.0 port, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, and NFC for a truly full-fledged flagship experience.
Honor also introduces an AI-powered physical button for quicker access to smart features, showing the company's strong focus on blending hardware with intelligent software tools. For Honor, this has been a very aggressive pricing strategy in China. The Honor 500 starts from ¥2699 for the 12GB + 256GB version, making it very attractive to users seeking a high-performance phone without having to pay a flagship price. Then, the Honor 500 Pro starts from ¥3599 for the same storage amount, though with the bumped chipset, the addition of a telephoto camera, and wireless charging support, it also makes a pretty good argument for the price increase.
All in all, the Honor 500 and Honor 500 Pro are some of the best-balanced smartphones coming out in 2025, combining world-class display, powerful performance, highly capable cameras, excellent battery life, and class-leading durability. If Honor launches the 500 series worldwide, particularly in India, this may trigger huge competition in the mid-premium segment and pose a serious challenge for OnePlus, Xiaomi, and Samsung. The combination of extreme brightness, huge battery, advanced AI features, and durable build quality makes the Honor 500 lineup one of the most exciting smartphone releases of the year.

