Glory: Global Counterattack, Foldable Screens and AI Become Key

Glory: Global Counterattack, Foldable Screens and AI Become KeyOn September 5th, the 2024 IFA (Internationale Funkausstellung) in Berlin, Germany, kicked off. Chinese smartphone brand Honor showcased its latest generation of foldable flagship phone, Honor MagicV3, Honor MagicPad2 tablet, Honor MagicBookArt14 laptop, and other products, along with several on-device AI innovations, such as AI face swap detection and AI defocusing eye protection

Glory: Global Counterattack, Foldable Screens and AI Become Key

On September 5th, the 2024 IFA (Internationale Funkausstellung) in Berlin, Germany, kicked off. Chinese smartphone brand Honor showcased its latest generation of foldable flagship phone, Honor MagicV3, Honor MagicPad2 tablet, Honor MagicBookArt14 laptop, and other products, along with several on-device AI innovations, such as AI face swap detection and AI defocusing eye protection. At IFA 2024, Honor CEO Zhao Ming will also launch flagship products including the Honor MagicV3 to a global audience.

The Chinese smartphone market, after years of cutthroat competition, has become a red ocean of involution. At the same time, the entire domestic smartphone industry chain is upgrading towards high-end, opening up overseas markets, and enhancing global influence, becoming a path that numerous smartphone brands must face. For Honor, expanding overseas markets has been fraught with challenges from the start. After the establishment of New Honor at the end of 2020, the company was facing a "difficult situation," with production, supply, and research and development unable to meet the demands of overseas market expansion. As a result, its overseas market share was practically nil. Compared to other brands with years of experience, Honor's global expansion efforts could be described as a "terrible start."

However, just four years later, Honor has achieved a spectacular turnaround. According to the latest data released by Counterpoint, in the second quarter of 2024, Honor surpassed Samsung, which previously held a near-monopoly in the European foldable phone market, to claim the top spot in Western Europe. Furthermore, 70% of the year-on-year growth in large foldable phone sales in Europe in the first half of 2024 came from Honor. Also, in the second quarter of 2024, Honor's foldable phone shipments globally witnessed a 455% year-on-year surge, marking the highest growth rate among all brands. Honor CEO Zhao Ming stated in an interview that Europe is Honor's second home market, and thanks to the success of the flagship Magic series and foldable products, Honor's ASP (Average Selling Price) in Europe is more than double that of other overseas regions, demonstrating simultaneous growth in both volume and price.

A Clear and Comprehensive Global Expansion Strategy Drives Honor's Counterattack

The speed at which Honor has risen in the global market is astounding. Behind this success lies a clear strategic roadmap and layout for globalization.

First, from its inception, New Honor has considered the overseas market as a crucial direction. As Zhao Ming said in an interview, "From the outset, we established a global strategy: 'going out,' 'going in,' and 'going up,' learning to 'swim' in the international high-end market." After a year of recovery and adjustment, Honor truly began its push toward globalization in 2022. They established a wide-reaching sales network around the world, particularly in Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. Simultaneously, in terms of products, Honor has focused on promoting its high-end flagship products, such as the Magic series, to enhance its brand image and market share.

Taking the European market as an example, Honor had a very clear strategy from the beginning: to focus on the high-end segment. They centered on the Magic series and the number series in Europe, steadfastly building a high-end brand presence globally.

On the supply chain front, Honor has confirmed subsequent cooperation relationships with multiple global suppliers, ensuring product supply and quality. They also prioritize collaborations with local supply chains to adapt to and meet the needs of different markets. For instance, by the end of 2023, Honor had already established partnerships with over 200 major channel partners and operators globally, enabling rapid growth in Europe through a comprehensive and powerful product portfolio.

In terms of technology research and development, Honor continues to invest heavily in product innovation, such as foldable screen technology, Qinghai Lake batteries, Oasis eye protection screen technology, etc., to maintain its competitiveness in the global market. Additionally, regarding brand image, Honor has collaborated with "Porsche Design," combining pioneering and classic elements, leveraging synergies and empowerment between brands to solidify its high-end brand image and substance. At this year's MWC, Honor unveiled the Honor MagicV2RSR Porsche Design for the global market, which will undoubtedly contribute to their expansion endeavors.

Overall, through establishing overseas sales networks, promoting high-end flagship products, deepening supply chain partnerships, and a multi-pronged strategy encompassing technology, products, research and development, and distribution, Honor has effectively completed a perfect global counterattack.

Focusing on Foldable Screens and AI: Technological and Product Innovation are the Cornerstones of Global Expansion

Within Honor's systematic global strategy, the robust product and technological research and development capabilities deserve special attention, as they are the foundation for all achievements. Among Honor's numerous technological and research and development innovations, leadership in foldable screens and AI is especially crucial.

Take the Honor MagicV3, launched at IFA 2024, as an example. This product epitomizes Honor's leadership and innovation in the foldable screen domain. It incorporates the innovative Honor Luban Architecture, drawing inspiration from the structure of the Zhao Zhou Bridge for its hinge. The arch-shaped swingarm design, with six groups of swingarms, results in a 1250% increase in hinge stiffness. For materials, Honor has leveraged cross-industry innovation to self-develop Shield Steel, further enhancing the hinge's integration and reliability, achieving a steel strength of 2100Mpa for the foldable phone, creating the most reliable hinge components. They have also incorporated aerospace-grade special fiber materials into the phone, boasting a strength of 5800MPa and a density of only 1.56g/cm, showcasing "generational leading" capabilities in comprehensive performance.

In terms of screens, the Honor King Kong Giant Rhinoceros Glass, after three years of technological pre-research, has opened up a new track for "silicon nitride plating." Utilizing a unique multi-layered design with up to 4000+ layers and nanometer-level plating technology, it achieves a 10x improvement in abrasion and drop resistance, continuously leading the smartphone industry into the era of zero screen protectors.

Additionally, regarding batteries, Honor has collaborated with the battery industry chain to innovate, from pre-research technology to feasibility verification, ultimately realizing the industry's first silicon-carbon negative electrode battery technology. This allows for higher battery capacity in the same volume, causing a stir in the industry. In the MagicV3's third-generation Qinghai Lake battery, the silicon content breaks the industry record at 10% for the first time, boasting the industry's highest battery-to-overall-volume ratio at 24.7%.

These technological innovations enable the Honor MagicV3 to achieve the first foldable phone that effortlessly balances thinness, durability, and battery life, overcoming the "impossible triangle." This is a groundbreaking achievement, leading the way globally and naturally garnering global consumer recognition for Honor's foldable phones.

Simultaneously, AI is becoming the most crucial development trend in the global technology industry. Consequently, AI has become a key driver for Honor's global expansion through innovation. Honor first introduced the MagicLive intelligent system on the first-generation Magic in 2016, laying the groundwork for platform-level AI with MagicOS 7.0 in 2022, and finally, with MagicOS 8.0, it leverages platform-level AI to create a new paradigm for intent-driven human-computer interaction. Honor has been actively exploring the future of AI all along. Over the years, Honor's accumulated AI research and development expenses have reached 10 billion yuan, and they hold 2100 AI patents.

At MWC 2024 this year, Honor officially launched its new AI-enabled all-scenario strategy, presenting a brand-new path for on-device AI development.

Conclusion

Since the birth of New Honor, the company has set a goalto "become a globally iconic technology brand," creating a new world of intelligence for everyone. With Honor's series of moves at this IFA 2024, we can see that this goal is achieving milestone results.

Over the past two years, through clear and resolute strategic direction and continuous product and technological innovation, Honor has been accelerating towards becoming a high-end global brand, gradually establishing its "World Honor" brand influence. With Honor's continuous efforts in market, product, and technological development, it will soon become a new force among high-end global brands, alongside Apple and Samsung.