Honor, the Chinese technology firm, has announced its plans to launch a foldable flip phone this year, marking its first venture into the vertical-folding style of smartphones. This move puts Honor in direct competition with industry giants Samsung and Apple, as it aims to challenge them in the premium end of the market.
Foldable smartphones, also known as “foldables,” are devices with displays that can bend. Currently, there are two styles available on the market: smartphones that fold like a book and those that fold vertically, resembling old-school flip phones without a visible hinge. Honor’s upcoming flip foldable will fall into the latter category.
George Zhao, CEO of Honor, expressed his optimism about the future of foldables, stating, “We are very positive about foldables for the future.” While Honor already has several foldable phones on the market, such as the Honor Magic V2, they all belong to the book-style folding device category. The introduction of a flip foldable will allow Honor to tap into a different price point, as flip-style phones are often priced more affordably than horizontal-style folding devices.
The decision to enter the flip foldable market aligns with Honor’s strategy to challenge Samsung and Apple in the premium segment. Counterpoint Research predicts that sales of foldable phones will increase by 40% year-on-year to reach 22 million units in 2024. However, Neil Shah, a partner at Counterpoint Research, suggests that demand for flip foldables may be slowing due to difficulties in meeting consumer expectations for aggressive pricing. This presents an opportunity for newer vendors like Honor to enter or expand in the flip segment and test the market.
Honor, which spun off from Huawei in 2020 due to U.S. sanctions, has been striving to establish itself as an independent brand. While it has achieved success in China, its focus now lies in expanding its presence in international markets, where it currently does not rank among the top 5 players globally. CEO George Zhao hopes that within the next three-to-five years, overseas sales volumes will surpass those in China.
At the Mobile World Congress, Honor showcased its commitment to artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Zhao emphasized the value of AI in reconstructing user interactions, with the goal of creating intent-based user experiences. Honor demonstrated an AI-powered feature on its Magic 6 Pro handset that can track the user’s eyes, as well as a chatbot built on Meta’s Llama 2 AI model.
In addition to its product innovations, Honor has also announced its intention to go public. While preparations for an initial public offering are underway, no final timing or destination for the listing has been determined yet.
With its upcoming launch of a flip foldable phone and its focus on AI technology, Honor is positioning itself as a formidable competitor in the smartphone market. As it takes on industry giants like Samsung and Apple, it remains to be seen how Honor’s offerings will resonate with consumers and whether it can carve out a significant share of the premium segment.
