"Where is the new horizon for Honor?

On the evening of October 30, Honor released the AI flagship mobile phone Magic7 series at the Shenzhen International Convention and Exhibition Center, marking the beginning of CEO Zhao Ming's all-in bet on AI mobile phones, now that he can finally independently operate Honor.

Zhao Ming said, "AI is undoubtedly the most eye-catching technological magic today... We firmly believe that AI is the future of smartphones. From photography, screens, battery life to communication, we use AI magic potential and reconfiguration to enhance everything, including the operating system. The Honor Magic7 series will be the AI mobile phone that leads the future."

At the press conference, a meaningful image appeared on the big screen: "Using your own name, heading towards your own distant horizon." The official interpretation was that this was a true portrayal of the four years of independence since Honor split from Huawei in 2020 and was controlled by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Shenzhen Municipality.

Coincidentally, Wan Biao, Vice Chairman of Honor, announced his resignation due to personal reasons on the eve of this year's National Day. As early as November 2023, Wu Hui, the former Chairman of Shenzhen Water Group, parachuted into Honor as Chairman, demoting Wan Biao to Vice Chairman.

Wan Biao joined Huawei in 1996, three years later than Yu Chengdong, who heads Huawei's terminal and automotive business units. He served as President of Huawei's wireless product line, a position Yu Chengdong had also held. In the second half of 2010, Yu Chengdong was transferred from Huawei's wireless product line to CEO of Huawei's terminal business, and a few months later, Wan Biao was appointed President of Huawei's terminal business. Later, Wan Biao was appointed President of Huawei's Russia region and President of Huawei's mobile broadband and home product lines. In 2017, Wan Biao returned to Huawei's Consumer Business Group as Chief Operating Officer. After Honor split from Huawei in 2020, Wan Biao became Chairman of Honor.

Zhao Ming is also a veteran of Huawei. He joined Huawei in March 1998 and held positions such as President of Huawei's CDMA/WiMAX/TD product line, Director of the Global Wireless Solutions Sales Department, Representative of the Italian Representative Office, and Vice President of the Western Europe Region. In March 2015, Zhao Ming became President of Honor.

Both Zhao Ming and Wan Biao are veterans alongside Yu Chengdong. With Wan Biao's departure and Wu Hui taking over as Chairman, Zhao Ming may have more room to maneuver.

Wu Hui's past experience includes working in various government departments such as the Shenzhen General Office, Hubei Provincial Party Committee Office, and Deputy Secretary of the Xianning Municipal Party Committee. He has no experience in the mobile phone industry and is more adept at communicating with the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Shenzhen Municipality and tapping into more resources and capital.

On October 31, Honor confirmed that China Telecom, funds under CICC Capital, funds under Cornerstone, Tefa Fund, and a new round of agent investment platform Jinshixingyao have invested in Honor.

With Wu Hui focusing on capital and resources and Zhao Ming focusing on business, this may allow Honor to better achieve its goal of "using its own name to head towards its own distant horizon."

Gambling on AI mobile phones

The 'distant horizon' referred to by Zhao Ming is closest embodied in the AI flagship mobile phone Magic7 released this time.

In fact, most mobile phone brands on the market now also claim to be AI mobile phones because they directly integrate large model technology into specific applications on mobile phones by accessing the capabilities of other AI manufacturers, easily enabling functions such as photo editing, language translation, note-taking, text messaging, and searching.

Zhao Ming believes that a true AI mobile phone needs to comprehensively reshape the underlying hardware and operating system using AI technology.

Zhao Ming of Honor