Honor 60 and 60 Pro launch in China bringing minor upgrades

The new models feature larger batteries, more RAM and new hand gesture functionality for a growing vlogger market

Honor 60 and 60 Pro
(Image credit: Honor)

Though the Honor 50 has only just made its way into the UK, the Huawei off-shoot (now a separate company) has announced the new Honor 60. The latest smartphone is for the China market only right now but is likely to gain an international release next year – just as the Honor 50 did after its Chinese release. 

The Honor 60 comes in two versions: the 60 and the 60 Pro. Both come in a choice of four nature-influenced colors. There's a starry sky blue that has a metallic speckled backplate, an orangey Juliet rose, a deep green and a pure black. 

Both phones feature the familiar large dual-camera bump that sits like a pair of eyes on the back of the phone. The cameras on the Honor 60 appear similar to those on the 50, while the 60 Pro has some upgrades. The ultra-wide camera is now 50MP rather than 8MP and there's a dual-LED flash. The Honor 60 Pro also features a 50MP ultra-wide camera on the front instead of dual 12MP and 32MP cameras. 

There's a new processor in the Honor 60 Pro too: a SnapDragon 778G+ rather than the standard 778G that is on the Honor 60 and the Honor 50 models.  

Honor 60 Pro

The Honor 60 has a curved glass display on the front. 

(Image credit: Honor)

Both models come with new screens, the a 6.67-inch for the Honor 60 and a 6.78-inch for the Honor 60 Pro, which curves around the edges, differentiating it from the 60. Minimum memory options also now start at 8GB for both models.

The new battery is perhaps the biggest change here though. Both new models feature a large 4800mAh battery, with 66W fast charging to give a claimed 50% charge in just 15 minutes. They also offer a 5W reverse charging for accessories.

The big push of the presentation though, was the addition of hand gestures for camera operation – no, not those kind! Raise your hand for two seconds and the camera will start recording video. Rotate your hand to switch between front and rear camera, move your hand to the side to activate side by side videos, make a fist to turn on picture-in-picture mode and make the OK sign to stop recording. This is all designed with the video blogger in mind, though it could have some uses for those group selfies.

The Honor 60 and Honor 60 Pro are priced from 2699RMB and 3999RMB respectively, which converts to $420/£320/AU$590 and $480/£440/AU$810. However, these prices are likely to rise for the international versions and it's very unlikely we will see them at all in the US.

Honor 60 and 60 Pro

Hand gestures can be used to change the video settings on the Honor 60 and 60 Pro

(Image credit: Honor)
Mat Gallagher

As T3's Editor-in-Chief, Mat Gallagher has his finger on the pulse for the latest advances in technology. He has written about technology since 2003 and after stints in Beijing, Hong Kong and Chicago is now based in the UK. He’s a true lover of gadgets, but especially anything that involves cameras, Apple, electric cars, musical instruments or travel.