The Honor 50 series debuted in China today (June 16), and while handset makers were eager to talk about the many cameras on the Honor 50 and Honor 50 Pro, it is the software on the new handsets that has drawn the most attention.

The Honor 50 and Honor 50 Pro include Google apps that were absent from the Chinese phone maker's most recently released phones; the absence of Google apps was painfully felt, so their return makes the Honor 50 phones a making it a more attractive option for Android users.

Honor confirmed the return of Google apps in a statement to Tom's Guide, confirming that Honor phones "have undergone Google's Play Protect certified security review and compatibility testing process and are ready to run Google and Google Play Store apps. to ensure they are ready to run Google and Google Play Store apps," a spokesperson said.

"Honor devices will have the option to pre-install Google Mobile services on compatible devices in accordance with Google's licensing and governance model.

Honor lost the ability to use Google apps on its phones because it was a subsidiary of Huawei, a Chinese cell phone manufacturer that has fallen foul of the U.S. government. Huawei continues to be on a government blacklist that prevents U.S. companies from doing business with Chinese companies. This blacklist includes Google, and Huawei is unable to use Google's apps on its phones.

Huawei separated Honor into an independent business last November, primarily as a result of U.S. sanctions. Now independent, Honor can once again do business with Google, and the Honor 50 software reflects this.

Honor phones were once sold in the U.S. and I remember reviewing the Honor 8 five years ago. Huawei's troubles with the U.S. government are only part of the reason for this, as it is difficult for a cell phone manufacturer to enter the U.S. without first having a carrier partner in place. Therefore, neither the Honor 50 nor the Honor 50 Pro are likely to buck this trend.

The Honor 50 series will come to the UK later this year after an initial release in China. It will also ship to France, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, and Saudi Arabia, but when is yet to be determined; the Honor 50 costs 2,699 yuan (about $421 in US dollars), while the Honor 50 Pro costs 3,699 yuan (about $578).

Those who buy the Honor 50 will get more cameras for their money. The rear cameras on both phones have four lenses, adding an 8MP wide-angle lens to the 108MP main shooter, as well as a dedicated macro and depth camera. However, it is the front of the phone that Honor is promoting, with two lenses, a 32MP selfie cam and a 12MP video cam, targeting video bloggers.

The front camera includes support for super night mode as well as smart switching with artificial intelligence; according to Honor, six multi-lens shooting modes can be used to record from the front camera and the real camera simultaneously.

The Honor 50 series batteries are notable not only for their size (4,300 mAh for the Honor 50 and 4,000 mAh for the 50 Pro), but also for their charging speed: the Honor 50 supports fast charging at 66W, while the Honor 50 Pro exceeds that with a 100W speed Honor claims that a 20-minute charge can restore a depleted Honor 50 Pro battery capacity to 90%; the Honor 50 can reach 70% in the same time.

The Honor 50 has a 6.57-inch curved display and the Honor 50 Pro has a 6.72-inch curved display. Both models support a refresh rate of 120 Hz; the Honor 50 Pro can dynamically adjust this rate. It also boasts a 300 Hz touch sampling rate for a more responsive screen.

Powering all of this is a Snapdragon 778G system-on-chip. In other words, the Honor 50 series has 5G connectivity.

All in all, a pretty impressive pair of mid-range phones, made even more attractive by the return of Google Apps. All that remains is for Honor to broaden the market in which it sells its phones.