Honor Play 5 Launch Timeline and Product Images Revealed; 66W Charging and 5G Chip in the Cards

Following a slew of entry-level Play series phones, Honor has now announced a new mid-range addition to the Play family. The Honor Play 5 was teased in an official promotional poster, giving us the previews and launch timeline. Let’s meet this sub-flagship Honor phone.

We learned that the Honor Play 5 is launching in China on May 18 at 7:30 PM local time. The product images featured in the poster show a matrix-style camera, sunburst finished backplate, and a notched, almost bezel-free screen.

Our readers familiar with Huawei’s Nova series will note that the Play 5 looks identical to the Huawei Nova 7i successor the Nova 8 SE; it’s no coincidence because the Play 5 is possibly a rebranded Nova 8 SE. If so, it’ll allow Honor to ship the Play 5 with Google Mobile Services outside the Chinese market.

The system details for the Honor Play 5 are being kept under wraps, but rumored specifications line up with Nova 8 SE’s. For starters, the Play 5 also has the Dimensity 800U chipset at its heart. It runs on a 3800 mAh battery, capable of fast-charging at 66W (the high-end technology promises a full top-up in only 35 minutes.)

Honor Play 5 has a sleek, slim build — 7.46mm deep and weighs 179g. It comes in at least two editions, purple and aqua. The screen is a 6.53” panel, capable of delivering a full HD resolution while filling a 20:9 aspect ratio. For selfies, the Play 5 features a 16MP camera. The main cameras use a 64MP wide lens, an 8MP ultra-wide camera, and two 2MP macro and portrait sensors.

You can expect the latest Android11 right out of the box. Plus, 8GB+128GB memory and storage options. We’ll have confirmation on May 18.