The Honor Play launched last year as a gaming flagship phone. It was also the first phone to come with GPU Turbo technology, a software feature that enhances the gaming experience on Honor and Huawei phones and which other manufacturers have also replicated for their devices.
A successor was expected for the Honor Play this year but when the Honor Play 3 launched last month, it didn’t come with a flagship processor but the old mid-range Kirin 710 processor that doesn’t even measure up to the Kirin 970 in the Honor Play. But this is not the worst news for Honor Play owners.
A tweet by Honor India has revealed that the 2018 phone will not receive an update to EMUI 10 that should also bring Android 10 to the device.
Responding to a question by a user on Twitter (@vivesabbani) on if EMUI 10 will arrive for the Honor Play soon, the official Honor India account replied that the “…..EMUI 10.0/Android Q will not be available” for the phone due to “hardware limitations” as it requires “higher hardware specifications for optimal performance”.
Thank you for reaching out to us. We regret to inform you that EMUI 10.0 / Android Q will not be available for your device due to hardware limitations as it requires higher hardware specifications for optimal performance. We appreciate your understanding and patience.
— Honor India (@HiHonorIndia) October 18, 2019
This is surprising news since the Honor Play uses the same processor as the Huawei P20 (and Huawei P20 Pro) and Honor 10 which have all been confirmed to get EMUI 10 here and here respectively. Even the Honor V10/ View10 released in December 2017 will get EMUI 10.
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A lot of owners have expressed their displeasure at the news with some saying they would not be purchasing Honor phones in the future.
Honor is yet to release a statement explaining the hardware limitations that actually prevent the Honor Play from getting the update, so we cannot provide a technical reason yet. Once there is one, we will make sure to inform our readers.
The Honor Play has a 6.3-inch FHD+ display with a wide notch at the top. The Kirin 970 processor is paired with 4GB or 6GB of RAM with 64GB of storage on both versions. It has a 16MP + 2MP dual-camera setup on the back and a 16MP selfie camera. There is a fingerprint scanner on its back and a 3750mAh battery with support for 18W fast charge.
When it launched in July, it ran Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box. Honor later upgraded it to Android 9 Pie when it got the EMUI 9 update.
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