Chinese smartphone giants Honor and Xiaomi show AI’s vast market potential at MWC Barcelona to challenge Samsung, other global rivals

Chinese smartphone makers, led by Honor and Xiaomi, flexed their generative artificial intelligence (AI) prowess at this year’s edition of MWC Barcelona to challenge Samsung Electronics and other major rivals, but it remains to be seen whether they can successfully pull off this ambitious undertaking globally, according to industry analysts.

“China is a test field for generative AI, and various smartphone features are still in the trial-and-error stage,” said Lucas Zhong, a Shanghai-based analyst at tech research firm Canalys. But he indicated that the mainland’s handset makers are “more radical” than their global peers in exploring the potential of generative AI – algorithms like what ChatGPT uses to create new content, including audio, code, images, text, simulations and videos.

At the four-day MWC Barcelona, the world’s biggest mobile communications industry trade show that concluded on Thursday, Honor showcased a string of AI features on its latest 5G Android smartphone, the Magic6 Pro. This handset’s Magic Portal function harnesses the power of AI to understand user behaviour and streamline tasks, such as quickly recognising addresses in a text message to direct users to Google Maps.

At a nearby booth in the same MWC Barcelona exhibition floor, Xiaomi displayed its new flagship handset model, the 14 Ultra, which features enhanced photography features and AI capabilities. The handset’s AI Album Search function employs natural language processing that enables users to locate specific images within their collections based on a prompt describing them, while AI Portraits can create novel compositions derived from pre-existing images.

Increased AI integration in Chinese smartphones shows how a new tech arms race in the industry is heating up, several weeks after Samsung unveiled its new Galaxy S24 handsets with AI features based on Google’s Gemini technology.