If you squint, this looks like an iPhone Air. If you stop squinting, you notice it has an extra camera and an 8,000mAh battery that makes Apple’s thinness obsession look a little silly. HONOR just dropped its new 500 series in China, and the design inspiration is so obvious it circles back around to being bold. The phone’s flat metal sides, clean glass back, and minimalist aesthetic are all lifted straight from the modern flagship playbook. But this isn’t just another clone chasing a trend. HONOR took that familiar, premium silhouette and decided to fill it with hardware that directly challenges the compromises often made for the sake of design.
The entire strategy seems to hinge on that visual familiarity. Both the Honor 500 and 500 Pro are physically identical to each other, sharing a 7.75mm thin frame that feels deliberately calibrated offer slimness without the exaggeration and the spec-caveat. They even have the same 6.55-inch, 120Hz AMOLED display, so the experience up front is consistent. Instead of making the Pro a bigger, more unwieldy device, HONOR made the spec sheet the only real differentiator. It’s a clever way to offer a choice between “great” and “even better” without forcing a change in ergonomics.
Designer: HONOR
The standard Honor 500 (above), packs a dual-camera system led by a 200MP main sensor with OIS, co-developed with Samsung, and a 12MP ultra-wide. But the Pro model (below) is where they really lean in, adding a third lens to the mix and upgrading the stabilization for even steadier shots. It’s the clearest indicator of who each phone is for; the 500 is for the person who wants the look and the battery, while the Pro is for the user who wants all that plus a more versatile camera system.
Of course, the real headline grabber is the absolute monster of a battery hiding inside that slim chassis. HONOR managed to pack 8,000mAh cells into both standard AND Pro variants… that’s more than double of the iPhone Air’s 3,149mAh battery. The standard 500 gets 80W wired charging and a handy 27W reverse wired charging feature to share power. The Pro takes it a step further by adding 50W wireless charging, giving it the full suite of flagship power options. This single spec feels like a direct shot at every phone that dies before the day is over, turning the Honor 500 into an endurance champion disguised as a fashion phone.
The Pro justifies its title with a few other key upgrades under the hood. While both phones are expected to run on fast LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 storage, the Pro offers a higher 1TB storage ceiling compared to the standard model’s 512GB max. It also features a more advanced 3D ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, which is typically faster and more reliable than the optical sensor found in the base 500. Add in an enhanced RF chip for better connectivity, and the Pro’s premium becomes a collection of small but meaningful quality-of-life improvements.
Beyond those differences, the foundation for both phones is surprisingly robust. You get an IP68/IP69/IP69K rating for serious water and dust resistance, along with stereo speakers, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, and even an IR blaster. With launch pricing in China starting at 2,699 yuan ($381 USD) for the 500 and 3,599 yuan ($508) for the Pro, the value proposition is clear. HONOR is betting that people want a phone that looks like an iPhone Air but runs like a marathoner, and they’re not afraid to make the comparison impossible to ignore.
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