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Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Honor CEO George Zhao stated that the company will release a foldable cellphone this year. The foldable phone marks the Chinese technology company’s first foray into a product made popular by brands such as Samsung and Motorola.
Foldables refer to smartphones with screens that can be folded. Currently there are two models on the market, namely the one that folds like a book and the model that folds vertically like an old school flip phone but without a visible hinge.
The move to launch a foldable is in line with Honor’s push into the premium market where it wants to challenge the likes of Samsung and Apple.
“This year we are preparing to launch a flip phone, now we are internally at the final stage,” George Zhao, CEO of Honor, told CNBC International in an exclusive interview at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, quoted Thursday (29/2/2024).
“We are very positive about foldable devices for the future,” he added.
Honor already has a number of foldable phones on the market. The latest is the Honor Magic V2 which was launched last year. But all of Honor’s current foldables are book-style foldables.
Honor released the foldable Magic V2 on July 12, 2023 starting in the Chinese market.
The entry of foldable flip devices will make Honor have a different price. Flip model phones, such as the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, are often priced cheaper than horizontal folding devices.
Foldable phones are often seen as high-end devices in the smartphone world. However, according to Counterpoint Research, sales of premium smartphones priced above US$600 (Rp. 9 million) are likely to grow. Meanwhile the overall cellphone market is declining. This is one of the reasons Honor is targeting the flagship class market.
Sales of foldable phones will increase 40% YoY to 22 million units in 2024. But Neil Shah, partner at Counterpoint Research, said demand for foldable devices may slow as price expectations from the flip form factor become difficult.
“I believe this will create a market gap for new vendors to enter or expand in the flip segment and test the market,” he said
Honor used to be a spin-off of the Huawei brand. However, in 2020, due to United States sanctions, Honor separated from Huawei to become independent. Honor saw initial success in China and its focus is now on growth in international markets, where it is not yet among the top 5 players globally.
Zhao said his hope in the next three to five years is for overseas sales volume to exceed China. Like most device makers at MWC, Honor touted the potential of AI.
For Zhao, the value of technology will emerge when the device is able to anticipate what you want to do next.
“In the future, Honor’s strategy is AI to reconstruct user interactions. It will be intent-based, user interactions. So maybe when you interact with your phone, it can understand what your needs are.” Zhao said.
At MWC, Honor showed off an AI-powered feature on its Magic 6 Pro phone that can track users’ eyes.
Last year, Honor announced its intention to go public. Zhao said preparations were underway for an initial public offering. But there is no final time or goal for the recording.
Source : CNBC INDONESIA
