China’s Honor sees slim, AI-powered foldable smartphones driving premium market push

Chinese Android handset maker Honor, a spin-off from Huawei Technologies, has launched what it touts as the world’s slimmest foldable smartphone integrated with artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, as the company makes a push into the premium market segment.

Honor chief executive George Zhao Ming said at a media briefing on Friday after the company’s latest product launch in Shenzhen that thinness is an advantage for the company in the growing global market for foldable smartphones – including clamshell-type handsets that flip open vertically and those designed like a booklet that expands horizontally into tablet form.

The new 5G-capable Magic V3 handset, priced from 8,999 yuan (US$1,238), provides “a folded thickness” of 9.2 millimetres and weighs just 226 grams, slimmer than rival models from Samsung Electronics and Huawei, according to Honor. The basic model Magic Vs3, priced from 6,999 yuan, also stands out in this market segment at a slim 9.8mm when folded and weighing 229 grams.

Honor highlighted its application of AI for eye protection, in which the technology works to simulate defocus lens in improving myopia, and make it compatible with video and reading apps. Other AI-powered capabilities include improved motion-capture photography and organising of photo albums.