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That’s no moon — it’s a hole for the camera on Honor’s new smartphone

Honor has a new smartphone coming, and despite its launch being more than a month away, it’s letting you know now. You know what that means, right? Despite 2018 not being over yet, Honor’s getting us all excited for January 2019. The unnamed phone will be announced at a special event in Paris, France, on January 22.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

We don’t know much about the phone yet, aside from a few details taken from the invitation and Honor’s statement, but here’s what to expect so far. There’s a chance it’s the Honor View 20, but currently, it doesn’t fit in with rumors related to that phone.

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Why? The teaser is notable for various reasons, and the one that stands out the most is the screen on the mystery phone. Honor states the phone will be, “the first to demonstrate an in-screen camera display.” Now, look closely at the image and you’ll see that’s no moon, it’s a circular cutout for the front-facing camera.

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This is not the first time we’ve seen this screen design, with both Huawei and Samsung actively teasing phones with a circular screen cutout. However, it’s the first time we’re seeing Honor push the screen type, and rumors surrounding the Honor View 20 show the cutout in the top center of the screen. Does this mean the phone to be revealed in January will not be the View 20? Nothing is certain yet, but you can check out all the Honor View 20 rumors here to see if they begin to match in the near future.

Honor’s close relationship with Huawei means the new phone may be visually similar to the forthcoming Huawei Nova 4, but the power source may be different. Huawei’s Nova phones are usually midrange devices, but the new Honor will use the Kirin 980 processor, also seen in the Huawei Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro. This makes it a high-end smartphone, much like the previous View-series phones.

Between now and Honor’s event is CES 2019, where Honor has traditionally shown a new device. Holding another media event so soon after CES indicates Honor may not have anything new for the show this year, which is unexpected. We’ll keep you updated with all the Honor news over the coming weeks.

Andy Boxall
Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…
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