As with other device-makers, support for AI has emerged as a prominent theme for Honor in 2024. Earlier in the year at MWC in Barcelona, CEO George Zhao laid out the company’s ambitions for a growing number of AI-powered services including the Honor Magic Portal, which allows users to have more seamless interactions between different applications, combined with on-device AI-powered contextual awareness.
Today at the IFA trade show in Berlin, Honor announced its on-device AI Agent will start shipping in China later this year on Honor’s new flagship Magic7 series of smartphones, in conjunction with the release of its latest MagicOS 9.0 user interface platform.
The AI Agent marks an upgrade to Honor’s personal voice assistant, which not only offers the usual suite of capabilities provided by such assistants, but also delivers some new experiences. A demonstration by Mr Zhao at the company’s IFA keynote presentation showed the AI Agent interacting with services like WeChat and Alipay to check whether a user has an ongoing subscription. If requested, the agent could then cancel the subscription to prevent ongoing payments.
This approach differs from rivals which have typically shown AI assistants working with apps from within their own ecosystem — for example, Google’s Gemini works with YouTube rather than third-party apps like WeChat. And like other assistants, Honor’s AI Agent can also help with tasks such as travel planning, booking tickets, generating content and calendaring.
Honor is building on foundations within its on-device AI model including language analysis and contextual awareness, which is derived from how a device is used, what content is displayed on the screen and a person’s typical habits when using their smartphone.
These initiatives are part of a broader push in the Android ecosystem to offer AI-powered solutions that can compete with the forthcoming launch of Apple Intelligence. Several Android licensees already offer extensive on-device AI solutions, including Google with Gemini Nano, Honor with Magic Portal and now AI Agent, and Samsung with Galaxy AI.
The use of both on-device AI and cloud AI services is emerging as a potent combination as device-makers try to deliver more personalized services. Honor describes this approach as offering human-centric AI with the goal of providing a fully personalized experience for users. The company is also expanding its on-device AI capabilities and like others notes the merits of this approach for performance and security.
The momentum in this area is clear. In 2024, CCS Insight estimates that over 300 million smartphones shipped will be AI-capable, accounting for just over a quarter of the total market. By 2028, we expect this will reach 1 billion units per year (see Forecast: Mobile Phones, Worldwide, 2024-2028). Device-makers are betting on AI to reinvigorate consumer interest in smartphones, so it’s little to surprise to see it becoming such a dominant focus for all the leading players.
It’s encouraging to see such widespread support for AI on smartphones and CCS Insight expects this to be an omnipresent theme over the next few years as on-device AI is enhanced, offering a world of new opportunities to consumers.
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