Huawei reportedly working on a case that allows the 4G P50 series to access 5G networks
As many of you already know, the company that would have become King of the smartphone world, better known by its corporate name of Huawei, has suffered a mighty fall from grace. Some argue that the restrictions imposed against the company by the U.S. were due to Huawei's own alleged dealings with the Communist Chinese government, rumors that the firm used its devices to spy on Americans (which we should point out is a claim that never has been proven), and reports of industrial espionage.
Huawei's U.S. bans have prevented it from offering 5G capable phones
It is true that Huawei was found guilty of stealing T-Mobile's intellectual property for a phone testing robot, and it is considered to be a national security threat to the U.S. As a result, Huawei is on the entity list which prevents it from accessing its U.S. supply chain including Google. In addition, Huawei has been cut off from receiving cutting-edge chips from foundries that use American technology to build chips.
Huawei P50 Pro at left next to a case that will reportedly allow the phone to access 5G signals
As a result, Huawei's inventory of RF signal chipsets has been depleted which is why many of its new phones cannot connect to a 5G signal. But a report from ITHome (via HuaweiCentral) says that Huawei is supposedly working on a phone case that will enable users of some of its 4G only P50 flagships to connect to 5G signals. A leaked photograph allegedly shows the case next to a P50 series handset.
Render of the 5G Mobile Case
The P50 Pro, Huawei's photography-based flagship model, is powered by a Snapdragon 888 SoC that has been designed to work with 4G only. However, the 5G case will still allow the device to access 5G signals according to AnTuTu's news site. One theory is that the P50 series was built to connect to 5G and that the "5G Mobile Phone Case" activates this technology.
Something similar has been released before. Back in 2018, the Motorola Z3 was released and while a 4G phone initially, sticking the magnetic 5G Moto Mod accessory on the back of the phone allowed it to connect with Verizon's 28GHz mmWave 5G airwaves (which meant finding a 5G signal was like finding a needle in a haystack.
Huawei announces a new low-priced P50E model
Huawei also held its Spring Launch Conference today and added a low-priced model to the P50 line. The P50E sports a mid-range Snapdragon 778G chipset and comes in two different configurations. The model with 8GB of memory and 128GB of storage is priced at 4,088 yuan ($644), while the model with 8GB of memory and 256GB of storage will run you 4,488 yuan ($707).
Huawei's lower-priced P50E
The P50E will be available in White, Black, Cocoa Gold, and Galaxy Blue. The phone carries a 6.5-inch flat display with a 90Hz refresh rate and a 1224 x 2700 resolution. It is still a camera-first handset with a triple-camera setup in the back that includes a 50MP camera sensor, a 13MP camera sensor in back of an ultra-wide-angle lens, and a telephoto camera driven by a 12MP sensor. A 13MP sensor is behind the front-facing selfie snapper.
Keeping the lights on the Huawei P50E is a 4100mAh capacity battery that will fast charge at 68W. The phone is rated IP68 which means that it is impervious to dust and can be submerged in water to a depth of nearly 5 feet for as long as 30 minutes. Available in China only, the first flash sale of the device will take place on March 24th.
Lastly, Huawei also announced three new colors for its top-of-the-line P50 Pro. The new options are Galaxy Blue, Yunjin White, and Danxia Orange. Pricing for the Galaxy Blue variant is:
- 8GB memory +128GB storage-5488 yuan ($864).
- 8GB memory +256GB storage-5988 yuan ($943).
- 8GB memory +512GB storage-6988 yuan ($1,100).
Pricing for the P50 Pro in Yunjin White, and Danxia Orange is:
- 8GB memory +256GB storage-6488 yuan ($1,022).
- 8GB memory +512GB storage-7488 yuan ($1,179).
The White and Orange colors use a leather body, a nano-glass ceramic screen which has five times the ability to survive drops compared to older models. The Galaxy Blue has an anti-fingerprint coating that eliminates most fingerprints.
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