Honor’s first flagship with a Qualcomm processor will get a Snapdragon 888

Honor split off from Huawei a few months ago, but so far it hasn’t introduced any new smartphone. There are more updates on the way, and they may even be cleared to include Google services. The Chinese company should soon unveil a new flagship with top-tier specs.

A Honor flagship with a Snapdragon 888 processor

The latest leaked information suggests that the manufacturer should unveil its smartphone in July, and it’s likely to be a model from the Magic series. Almost certainly, the device will house what is currently Qualcomm’s most powerful 5 nm processor Snapdragon 888. Beyond that, there isn’t much information available about the device.

We could learn more in the coming weeks. The company’s director, Zhao Ming, said back in December last year that there were plans for flagship models under its own Mate and P series. There’s a clear Huawei reference here, which the company will likely be tied to for a long time.

Honor as a standalone brand

Honor is currently an independent brand and no longer has practically anything to do with Huawei. That means the manufacturer shouldn’t have any issues sourcing components from US companies, nor with trading with the USA. The devices should also have full access to Google services.

This information hasn’t been confirmed yet. Talks are still ongoing between Honor and the US company Google so the manufacturer can secure support for Google services. There are also plans to open branded stores—most likely only in its home market, China—for now—as well as launching Honor’s own online store, Honor Mall.

When Honor was under Huawei, it also couldn’t use Google services. The first one to pay the price was Honor 20 Pro, which started being sold in Europe only a few months after its official presentation in London. The device eventually received certification from Google.

Talks are still ongoing

Honor is currently negotiating not only with US chipmaker Qualcomm, but also with its rival MediaTek. The plan is to use chips from both of these companies. More expensive devices will likely be equipped with Qualcomm processors, while the cheaper ones will use MediaTek processors.