Honor is currently one of the five largest manufacturers in Europe. But his intention is not to stay there: the dream is to surpass Samsung and Apple. Of course, an ambitious goal, but with enough muscle and the right steps nothing is impossible.
Taking advantage of the launch of the Honor 200 Pro I was able to speak with Bruce Huang, the CEO of Honor for Spain and Portugal. We have asked him about the positioning of the brand in our country, the new family and future intentions. And we can already tell you that they have big plans.
Honor and growth in Europe
Honor grew 67% in Europe last year, a huge figure that makes one thing clear: Europe is a territory they are ready to conquer. The figure is even more striking if we look at Canalys data for the first quarter of 2024: Honor is the fastest growing manufacturer in Europe.
Honor is strengthening alliances with operators and investing in marketing with a clear objective: to make Europe “its second home”
Bruce tells us that the company is focusing on achieving good communication both at the marketing level and in alliances with operators. During the event we saw a good part of the Orange team, something unusual in product presentations.
Honor, the fastest growing manufacturer in Europe in 2024
Focusing more on Spain, Honor claims to have doubled sales compared to last year. They are working on improving their marketing teams, communication channels, as well as the sales and support experience itself. This last point is key to conquering the European market: offering good after-sales service.
At the product level, bringing phones like the Honor 200 Pro to Europe is proof that They know the need of the territory: phones with quality-price ratio. Last year the Honor 100 Pro did not set foot on our territory, but in 2024 something has changed. From Honor they assure us that their plan is to offer a more than competitive alternative at a photographic level, but with a lower price compared to the Honor Magic6 Pro.
The arrival of this phone also represents an important agreement: one with Harcourt. Xiaomi has Leica, Vivo has Zeiss, and Honor has opted for Harcourtone of the most renowned photography studios in Paris. They have used the studio’s know-how to refine their AI algorithms and bring to the market, as we have seen, one of the best portrait modes available today.
They did not want to get involved when it came to revealing whether there will be more models with Harcourt’s photographic modes, but the ‘stay tuned’ Wei’s work inevitably makes us think positively.
AI will be key for the company
For Honor there are two clear pillars in this matter: the operation of AI itself, but also the platform on which it is basedWith the arrival of MagicOS 8.0, Honor devices received their own LLM model, in collaboration with giants such as Qualcomm and Google.
The big difference between Honor’s model and the rest, they say, is that its model works by adapting to the information it obtains from its own user’s local data. Alternative models use huge data sets from thousands and thousands of users to hone their response.
For Honor, AI is not just a current trend, as 5G or foldable devices have been. AI models, according to Wei, will be One of the most relevant technologies in the next five years. “It’s not just about basic functions, it’s about improving people’s daily lives.”
Future plans for Honor
Honor does not intend to bring us cars, refrigerators or household products. At least not in the short term. One of the points they emphasize is that they are a mobile company and that they are fully focused on them. However, they are aware of how well wearables work in Spain, and that is why they offer alternatives such as the Honor Watch or the new Honor Band in our territory.
We will continue to see Honor laptops, watches and bracelets, as well as new product categories if they detect new needs in European territory. But one thing will not change: Honor is and will be a phone brand.
For the next five years the objective is clear: They want Europe to be “their second home”. In China, Huawei and Honor are taking it by storm. They occupy the first two positions in terms of market share and are very clear about what works there. The dream of sweeping away Apple and Samsung has come true, although on home soil.
Europe in the future could be its second bastion. And taking advantage of the fact that some of its rivals are not going through their best moment, it is not at all unreasonable to imagine Honor in a good position within the top 3 of manufacturers selling in Spain.
Image | Xataka
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