In a bid to rival Samsung, Honor is gearing up to release its inaugural foldable flip phone later this year. The CEO of the Chinese tech company, George Zhao, revealed this move during an exclusive interview with CNBC at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Honor, known for its push into the premium market, aims to compete with industry giants like Samsung and Apple.
The upcoming foldable flip phone aligns with Honor's strategy to explore the vertical-folding style, distinguishing it from its current lineup of book-style foldable devices. George Zhao expressed confidence in the future of foldables, emphasizing their positive outlook.
While Honor has already introduced several foldable phones, such as the Honor Magic V2, this new venture into flip foldables will cater to a different market segment, potentially offering a more budget-friendly option. The flip-style phones, like Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 5, often come with a lower price tag compared to their horizontal-folding counterparts.
Foldable phones are considered high-end devices in the smartphone landscape. Counterpoint Research predicts a 40% year-on-year increase in foldable phone sales to 22 million units in 2024. However, there are indications that demand for flip foldables may be slowing due to challenges in achieving aggressive pricing.
Despite the market dynamics, Honor, having emerged as a spin-off from Huawei in 2020, aims to establish itself as an independent brand. While finding early success in China, the focus is now on expanding its presence in international markets, with hopes of surpassing sales volumes overseas within the next three to five years.
At the Mobile World Congress, Honor highlighted the significance of artificial intelligence (AI) in its devices. George Zhao emphasized the value of AI in predicting user actions, envisioning a future where devices anticipate user needs. Honor showcased AI-powered features, including eye-tracking on the Magic 6 Pro handset and a chatbot demonstration built on Meta's Llama 2 AI model.
As Honor prepares for an initial public offering, the CEO stated that while preparations are underway, there is no finalized timing or destination for the listing.
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