HONOR technology is human-centric

In fact, sales in Colombia and Latin America increased by 200% in 2023, despite the lack of major investments in marketing and advertising.

In a conversation with EL TIEMPO, George Zhao He emphasized that one of the company's differentiators is its human-centered approach, which, as he explained, „has done a lot of work.”

A notable example in this regard is the company's commitment to visual health. According to studies, at least 2.2 billion people worldwide suffer from vision problems, and it is estimated that almost 1 billion of them could have avoided these problems.

Based on these findings, HONOR Priority Display Technology, Investing about $140 million in displays with features like PWM dimming, which effectively reduces user eye fatigue by adjusting low brightness, and a function that adjusts the screen's color temperature at night to promote better sleep.

„Usually, the interface of other devices is not human-centered, but in the process of our innovation, we base everything on the philosophy of better quality of life for humans,” Zhao explained: „We don't just consider. How clear or bright the screen is, we also consider the user's visual comfort. We consider.”

According to the Honor CEO, over the years, people around the world have been using their smartphones for longer periods of time. In China, the average usage is 5 to 6 hours.
„For example, if there is a smudge on the screen, it can affect your eyes and cause you discomfort, so we created A technology, with high quality, So you can feel good even in low or high light,” he clarified.

Another point of difference is with the investment made by the technology company in research and development (R&D). By 2023, HONOR allocated 11.5% of its revenue to R&D.

Considering that in other companies, on average, the investment is 4 to 5% of their total income, a higher percentage than its competitors.
According to Asia Company data, of the 13,000 employees who currently make up the company, More than 8,000 are dedicated to R&D aloneThis is 60% of the total workforce.

In a country like China, research and development (R&D) centers are necessary to promote comprehensive development of societies. Its significance is that in 2022 alone, the country allocated 3.09 trillion yuan (approximately $448.2 billion) to this area, which is 2.55% of the national GDP.

This is the new Honor Magic 6 Pro:

– The camera allows you to capture fast-moving images, perfect for high-quality game footage.

– Adapts to screen time, light and schedule conditions.

– Artificial intelligence helps predict user needs in real-time and configure applications in a personalized way.
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5 Questions: George Zhao, CEO – Hon

What makes HONOR different from other brands?

We strive to be a supplier that can compete with Apple and Samsung with a good product that supports innovation. But growing our brand requires time and balance because premium innovation comes at a huge cost.

When we launched the HONOR Magic V2 foldable phone, everyone called it a beautiful phone. We invested 150 million dollars to achieve that, but we could not balance the financial part when we built the first generation. Then the second version saw 200% growth. In 2023, foldable phones have that financial balance, and in 2024 we will be profitable.

Of course, we faced many challenges when we started, but the human-centered approach has worked a lot for us.

Is Magic OS different?

AI (Artificial Intelligence) is the magic part because it gives us the opportunity to build a phone that truly understands you as you use it every day. Communicate with you, they know what kind of service you need, what you say or how you interact with content, they know your habits and can predict what you want. We call it short AI.

Also, HONOR took several steps to apply a human-centered approach with openness and collaboration. When we collaborate, for example, we collaborate with Google. We don't want to replace Android Assistant either.

We are building the Magic Operating System (Magic OS), which respects the existence of other ecosystems, but we use an AI engine. We empower Android, Microsoft and show them that we respect and support them.

But, in addition, we combine them. We provide seamless service from phone to PC to tablet. It's about Honor's ability and our contribution. That's why Google, Microsoft and Nvidia and their partner vendors are aware of our AI capabilities.

What is the key to getting customers in Latin America?

In 2023, we grow 200% faster in Colombia and Latin America. We have learned that the most important thing in this market is the basics and the consumer experience with design, innovation and quality. Our advertising is less than others but today we are growing very fast because we decided to make better product for customer and they need to advertise for us.
The second thing is a good partnership with a local retailer. For Honor, the business philosophy means having a strategy in which we collaborate with the customer. It is about the customer and key partners.

What's new?

We are gearing up to launch the Honor Magic 6 Pro in May. We scoured the market for a screen that's comfortable for the eyes. If you want to listen to music, the sound is very good, as is the battery life, it has a good screen and AI.

Finally, what's the news for customers who don't know Honor in Colombia?

For us, the first thing is to create a good trust with the end consumer. Users buy our smartphone and get amazing user experience. That is the most important part. Over the past two and a half years, our team at Columbia has done just that. We think this is positive.
We will gradually increase our advertising and display more of our phones in stores in shopping centers, for example, so people can see and buy our product. We are also building repair centers. These centers are most common in Colombia. That is our long-term commitment to the region.