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HONOR Play to hit India on August 6, global launch set for IFA?
- A listing for the HONOR Play has appeared on Amazon India’s website.
- The listing contains the “crazy fast, crazy smart” tagline, which is the same tagline used in HONOR’s IFA press invite.
- The HONOR Play is a gaming-focused phone, packing a flagship processor and “4D” vibration.
The HONOR Play was announced in China back in June, but we received word of a global launch shortly thereafter. Now, Amazon India has published an HONOR Play listing, revealing an imminent Indian release and potentially tipping us off to a wider launch at IFA in Berlin.
According to the retailer’s listing, the phone will be an Amazon-exclusive device and will launch on August 6. Oddly enough, Honor has also teamed up with the Audi Sport R8 LMS Cup racing series to promote the phone in India. We’re not sure how far this partnership extends, but it seems to be a case of HONOR using racing footage in its marketing.
In any event, we don’t have Indian pricing for the HONOR Play, so you’ll need to wait until August 6. As for other regions, it looks like HONOR is preparing for a wider launch at IFA on August 30.
The Amazon India listing and promotional video reveals the “crazy fast, crazy smart” tagline. And this just so happens to be the tagline for HONOR’s emailed IFA press invitation (seen below). So if you’re hoping to grab the device but don’t live in China or India, you should keep an eye on this event.
We’re also expecting HUAWEI at large to make announcements at IFA. Whether this is an expanded launch for other phones, entirely new devices or the rumored Kirin 980 chipset, is anyone’s guess at this stage.
The HONOR Play packs a Kirin 970 chipset, a notched 6.3-inch full HD+ LCD screen, 4GB/6GB of RAM, 64GB of expandable storage (via a hybrid SIM slot), and a 3,750mAh battery.
HONOR has also added a few gaming-focused features, namely GPU Turbo tech for better graphical performance and “4D” haptic feedback. It pales in comparison to the ASUS ROG Phone, which packs three shoulder triggers, an overclocked processor, and a variety of accessories. Then again, the ROG Phone is expected to be rather expensive, while HONOR’s device has mid-range pricing.
The HONOR Play also packs a 16MP+2MP rear camera (complete with AI-powered scene recognition and bokeh tricks) and a 16MP selfie shooter. It also features a 3.5mm headphone jack, USB Type-C connection, and a rear fingerprint scanner.
Honor’s phone costs 1,999 yuan (~$292) in China for the 4GB/64GB version, and 2,399 yuan (~$350) for the 6GB/64GB model.