Honor Smartphones In India Will Get Clean Android, Two Annual OS Updates And Google Mobile Services

Honor recently confirmed it is coming back to India, and now its new CEO has addressed the most commonly asked question about the smartphones it will offer to Indian buyers.

The Honor smartphones that will sell in India will have a clean Android OS and interface, HonorTech CEO Madhav Sheth has confirmed. Although he confirmed there will be Google Mobile Services (GMS), there could be limitations on the apps and services that are usually preinstalled. Let's see how Honor plans to attract Indian smartphone buyers and create loyalty.

Honor Smartphones With The Latest Android OS But MagicOS Custom Skin And Limited Services?

Madhav Sheth has been quite forthcoming about Honor's plans in India. He openly and clearly answered some of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the Honor smartphones that will be sold in India.

Honor will ensure all its Android smartphones launching in India will have the latest Operating System running on them. In other words, Honor won't dump old smartphones with outdated software at discounted prices in India.

Huawei, the company that once owned the Honor brand, was barred from installing Google Mobile Services (GMS) on its smartphones. However, Honor has regained the privilege. GMS is at the core of Android and unlocks access to critical backend services used by millions of smartphone users across the world.

In addition to GMS, HonorTech is promising two years of Android OS upgrades and three years of security updates. Although the assurance is on the lower side, Honor may enhance support down the line.

Sheth mentioned HonorTech is, "only focusing on the applications and services that users use like Google Maps, Google Drive, or productivity apps and any other essential apps". It is not clear what he meant, but it is likely that Honor won't preinstall a lot of apps, collectively called bloatware, on its smartphones sold in India.

The Android OS running on Honor smartphones will have the latest version of MagicOS custom skin, which is currently Magic OS 7.1. Honor assures MagicOS is smooth, stable, and offers a non-intrusive user interface.

Honor Smartphones Hardware Specifications, Features Launched In India

Honor has been teasing its reentry in India for quite some time on social media platforms. Sheth has now confirmed that the first Honor smartphone to launch in India after its comeback will be the Honor 90.

Although a little premature to say, it appears Honor could be focusing on the midrange and the upper midrange category. In other words, Honor might be avoiding the budget and affordable segment, presumably because of lower profit margins and high competition.

Honor launched the Honor 90 in China recently. The 5G-enabled smartphone features a 6.7-inch curved OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of up to 1600 nits. Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chipset, paired with up to 16GB RAM and 512GB of internal storage, powers the smartphone.

The Honor 90 has a triple camera setup, comprising a 200MP main camera, a 12MP ultra-wide-angle camera, and a 2MP depth sensor. There's an industry-leading 50MP front-facing selfie camera on the Honor smartphone.

Honor is expected to price the Honor 90 at around ₹40,000. If accurate, the Honor 90 would compete with other upper-mid-range smartphones such as the recently launched Nothing Phone 2, the iQOO Neo 7 Pro, and the OnePlus 11R.