•    HONOR recently launched its flagship Magic7 series. It boasts well-tuned photography capabilities, a TÜV Full-care 4.0-certified natural light ‘Oasis’ eye protection screen, and the AI-powered MagicOS 9.0 system.
•    As among the first in the industry to equip devices with the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, HONOR has introduced the industry's first NPU+GPU heterogeneous computing architecture to provide enhanced performance support for AI applications.
•    HONOR employs its latest self-developed AI Image Engine, introducing the Light and Shadow Portrait Large Model and the Snapshot Enhancement Large Model. These advancements achieve significant improvements in AI Motion Sensing Capture snapshot capabilities and enhance the sculpting of light and shadow in portraits.
•    HONOR will also launch the Porsche version of the Magic 7 series along with the new GT series by the end of the year.

As HONOR enters its fourth year since splitting from Huawei, it has launched the flagship Magic 7 series with the latest personalized all-scenario AI operating system, MagicOS 9.0, well-tuned photography capabilities, and a TÜV Full-care 4.0-certified natural light ‘Oasis’ eye protection screen. Further, the Magic 7 series, which includes the Magic 7 and Magic 7 Pro models, is equipped with the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, Qualcomm's first flagship chip with the self-developed Oryon CPU architecture, claimed to increase performance by 62% and improve energy efficiency by 45%.

Source: Counterpoint

As among the first in the industry to use the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, HONOR has also introduced the industry’s first NPU+GPU heterogeneous computing architecture to provide solid performance assurance for this product at the forefront of AI applications. According to official claims, the chip’s AI computing power has increased by 45% due to this. Moreover, HONOR starts with 12GB of memory from the basic version to the Pro version, with both equipped with 8T LTPO displays, 3D ultrasonic fingerprint modules, NanoCrystal Shield screen protection, and support for IP68+IP69 among others. This means the basic version shares more specifications and features with the Pro version, providing more reasons for consumers with a budget of over 4,000 yuan (~$562) to make a purchase.
The competition in the Chinese high-end smartphone market is exceptionally fierce. Major Chinese smartphone brands keep on innovating to increase their share in the above-3,999 yuan (~$562) market.

Source: Counterpoint

Chinese brands have been more aggressive in hardware, not only regularly adopting new flagship SoCs from Qualcomm or MediaTek but also actively collaborating with the leading chip and component manufacturers and exploring better display effects and CMF with top domestic and international manufacturers of components such as screen and camera module.
At the same time, they are going all out in foldable models and AI applications. It is worth mentioning that Chinese brands have made significant improvements in photography and imaging effects in recent years. The HONOR Magic 7 adopts a 50MP main camera and equally pixeled ultra-wide-angle and 3X telephoto (Pro version upgraded to 200MP 3X periscope telephoto), and incorporates HONOR's own AI Image engine to enhance its picture-taking capabilities, introducing the Light and Shadow Portrait Large Model and the Snapshot Enhancement Large Model. These advancements achieve significant improvements in the AI Motion Sensing Capture snapshot capabilities and enhance the sculpting of light and shadow in portraits.
All these upgrades take care of a big purchase criterion for Chinese smartphone consumers – the ability to take great pictures with just one click.

Source: Counterpoint

The MagicOS 9.0 showcases an upgrade of the YOYO voice assistant to the YOYO intelligent bot to demonstrate excellent AI application scenarios. At the launch event press conference, some outstanding AI application scenarios were highly praised, especially those about understanding instructions. They can achieve cross-application intelligent operations while understanding interface content. For example, when an instruction says “Please help me order a cup of coffee”, the AI entity first understands the user's needs, finds the corresponding food delivery app, and places an order for coffee to be delivered to the current address. This cross-application capability transcends the traditional voice assistant and is closer to a human-like assistant.
The products’ prices in China start at 4,499 yuan (~$632), generally higher than the 3,999 yuan (~$562) price for high-end models released this year by Chinese OEMs. This is mainly due to the cost increase brought by some key component upgrades, such as more advanced chips, larger memory, better screens, and higher-density batteries.
HONOR will also launch the Magic 7’s Porsche version along with the new GT series by the end of the year. The upcoming GT series will mainly target young groups with high-performance and more trendy products. Currently, domestic brands that boast such products include iQOO and realme.

Source: Counterpoint

According to Counterpoint’s latest Smartphone Replacement Cycle Tracker , the average replacement cycle in China will reach 48.4 months in 2024. The process of premiumization in the Chinese smartphone market will continue. We expect that with the replacement bonus brought by GenAI, the unrelenting efforts of Chinese manufacturers will be rewarded.