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Stepping into the spotlight at the Fortune Global Forum 2023 in Abu Dhabi, HONOR, the global technology powerhouse, seized the opportunity to delve into the future of smart devices. Dr. Ray Guo, the Chief Marketing Officer of HONOR Device Co. Ltd., led an insightful conversation alongside esteemed panelists Ben Wood, Chief Analyst and CMO of CCS Insight, and Frank Holzmann, Global EVP of Electrical Service at TÜV Rheinland. The thought-provoking discussion, titled “A New Intelligent World: What’s Next for Smart Devices,” offered a glimpse into the exciting developments on the horizon.

A New Intelligent World: What’s Next for Smart Devices

Hosted by Clay Chandler, Executive Editor for Asia, Fortune, this panel discussion covered a wide array of fascinating topics at the bleeding edge of technology, including foldable smartphones, human-centric display technology, and on-device AI. 

“We are honored to be part of the Fortune Global Forum 2023,” said Dr. Ray Guo, CMO of HONOR Device Co. Ltd. “The business world is entering an exciting new era, and technology will play a central role. We believe human-centric innovations will enable new possibilities for the next generation of smart devices. Foldables are on the cusp of going mainstream, on-device AI is paving the way for a transformative era, and human-centric technologies, such as eye comfort display technology, are enhancing human-device interaction experiences. From our perspective, this is what’s next for smart devices.”  

Foldables to Reach Mainstream

During the panel discussion, speakers shared their insights about the development of foldable smartphones. An interesting parallel was drawn between foldables in the smartphone industry and electric vehicles in the auto industry — both disrupted their industries with bold new concepts intended to change things for the better. Similarly, the latest data shows that in China more than 64% of high-end smartphone users are open to make the switch to foldables, suggesting we are at the tipping point of foldable smartphones becoming mainstream.

In the past, some core user pain points of foldables were not yet solved – namely portability, durability, and battery life. Now, devices like the HONOR Magic V2 are as thin and light as a regular flagship smartphone, while delivering all the benefits of an immersive foldable screen. The HONOR Magic V2 is tested to withstand at least 400,000 folds, representing great durability, and includes silicon-carbon battery technology for all-day battery life.  

After solving these consumer pain points, HONOR has recently hit a significant milestone in manufacturing 1 million foldables from its factory. Its Magic V2 is currently the No.1 best-selling foldable in China market, capturing 25% share of the expanding foldable market as a single model, according to industry analysis firm Omdia.  

The growing scale of production demonstrates how HONOR is driving the industry’s supply chain forwards – and that the industry is maturing. Surpassing this milestone of 1 million units shows that the supply chain is reaching a stage of mass production where the manufacturing process is more automated and efficient. This will benefit the wider industry, boosting supply chain confidence and encouraging other brands to innovate in the foldable space, which will in turn drive prices down and make foldable smartphones even more accessible. 

Introducing HONOR’s New Dedicated Eye Comfort Lab

Human-centric technology innovation was another key theme of the panel discussion. Dr. Ray Guo shared that, for HONOR, this means identifying real users’ problems, and solving them. 

Research shows that globally, at least 2.2 billion people have a vision impairment, and that this could have been prevented for at least 1 billion of these people. On the back of this research, HONOR made eye comfort display technology a top priority, as is evidenced by the company investing more than US$140 million (1 billion RMB) on display technology R&D, and developing over 500 display-related patents. Most recently, HONOR has just opened a new dedicated eye comfort lab to deepen its expertise in this area. “With this new facility, we hope to create an oasis of eye comfort in the desert of vision impairments,” commented Dr. Ray Guo.

In line with the investment, HONOR has debuted a series of innovative eye comfort features such as 3840Hz PWM dimming technology and Circadian Night Display to better protect users’ eyes, and these innovations gradually spread to the wider industry.

For example, since it introduced high frequency PWM dimming eye comfort features, 12 other smartphone brands have adopted the technology and now, more than 90% of smartphone displays in China have eye comfort features like high frequency PWM Dimming.

Unleashing the Potential of On-device AI

AI was undoubtedly one of the most highly-anticipated topics of the discussion. HONOR has invested in AI for years, having debuted platform-level AI to enhance the smartphone user experience with intention-based AI services. During the Qualcomm Snapdragon Summit in October, HONOR unveiled that its upcoming HONOR Magic6 smartphone will feature On-device LLM powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform. HONOR believes in a hybrid AI model, utilizing on-device AI for personalized content and services while ensuring user privacy with data staying on the device.

Celebrating Three Years of HONOR

As HONOR celebrates its three-year anniversary, its prominent presence at Fortune Global Forum demonstrates how HONOR has grown into a global premium brand who is leading the way in foldable innovation and eye comfort technology. 

The data suggests this innovation is paying off. The brand has achieved nearly 200% sales growth in overseas markets this year. In Europe, as the latest report from Counterpoint Research shows, HONOR is the only brand among the top five to grow YoY in Q3. In China, HONOR holds the top position in both the foldable market and overall market share in Q3 2023, according to major industry analysis firms such as Counterpoint and IDC.