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Honor has launched the Honor 500 series in China, signaling a major refresh with a new look, bigger batteries, and stronger hardware across the lineup. The Honor 500 and 500 Pro arrive with a design that leans toward Apple’s recent aesthetic shifts while pushing the company’s camera and performance ambitions forward. Honor is positioning these phones as premium mid-range devices with serious flagship elements.
The new design language stands out immediately. Both models feature aluminum frames and glass backs, with a camera plate that clearly mirrors the iPhone Air’s style. Although the phones are not as slim or light as Apple’s model, they keep a sleek profile at 7.8mm. The Honor 500 weighs 198g, and the Pro reaches 201g. Honor has also maintained the rugged protection of the older generation, offering full IP68 and IP69K resistance.
The two phones share similar display tech. Each carries a 6.55-inch LTPO OLED panel with a 1,264 x 2,736px resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate, and up to 6,000 nits of peak local brightness. The in-display fingerprint scanner returns, and both phones use a 50MP front-facing camera.
However, the hardware gap appears when comparing chipsets and rear cameras. The Honor 500 runs on the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chip, while the Pro model upgrades to the Snapdragon 8 Elite paired with up to 16GB RAM and 1TB storage. Both phones include a 200MP main camera with a 1/1.4-inch sensor and a 12MP ultrawide lens. The Pro variant adds a 50MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom.
Honor also focused on battery tech this year. Each phone uses an 8,000mAh Si-C battery with 80W wired charging. The Pro version supports 50W wireless charging, and both models offer up to 27W reverse wired charging. They run MagicOS 10 based on Android 16 out of the box.
Color options include Aquamarine, Starlight Powder, Moonlight Silver, and Obsidian Black. Pre-orders are live in China, and first deliveries begin on November 27.
Here is the official China pricing:
| Configuration | Honor 500 | Honor 500 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| 12GB/256GB | CNY 2,699 ($380) | CNY 3,599 ($506) |
| 12GB/512GB | CNY 2,999 ($422) | CNY 3,899 ($549) |
| 16GB/512GB | CNY 3,299 ($646) | CNY 4,199 ($590) |
| 16GB/1TB | – | CNY 4,799 ($675) |
