The Honor Magic 6 Pro has sent shockwaves through the smartphone industry, instantly becoming the center of attention at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024 in Barcelona, Spain.
This device brings a breath of fresh air with a plethora of latest innovations. It's not just about comprehensive AI capabilities but also a series of impressive specifications that can make flagship manufacturers like Apple and Samsung apprehensive.
The Honor Magic 6 Pro stands out as the first smartphone sold outside China to feature a silicon carbon battery. According to researchers, this battery is more environmentally friendly and safer from overheating risks compared to the lithium-ion batteries used in most smartphones on the market today.
Additionally, following in Samsung's footsteps, the Honor Magic 6 Pro focuses on artificial intelligence (AI) technology. However, its implementation differs significantly.
The device boasts an 'AI eye-tracking' feature that allows users to interact with applications using only their eyes. In a video demo, this feature was showcased opening and moving a car simply by looking at the phone screen, as reported by Reuters on Monday (26/2/2024).
While Android smartphones like Honor, Samsung, and Xiaomi have been offering more comprehensive AI products, the iPhone 15 Pro from Apple remains focused on photography capabilities and material durability.
This once again indicates Apple's decline as a leader in technological innovation. However, this trend may change with the launch of the iPhone 16 series later this year. If Apple fails to offer AI features and significant improvements to the iPhone lineup, its brand dominance could diminish.
Returning to the Honor Magic 6 Pro, the phone boasts a unique and luxurious design with a massive 6.78-inch display. One of the standout features is the screen brightness reaching 5,000 nits, far superior to the latest iPhone and Samsung models.
Photography remains a focal point as well. The Honor Magic 6 Pro features a telephoto camera module with a 2.5x lens and f/2.6 aperture, allowing more light to enter.
Its main camera sensor boasts a resolution of 108MP with digital zoom capabilities up to 100x. Additionally, the telephoto sensor is accompanied by a 50MP wide-angle camera and a 50MP ultrawide camera.
The carbon silicon battery of the Honor Magic 6 Pro boasts a whopping capacity of up to 5,600 mAh. Its performance is supported by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, currently the chipset of choice for premium smartphones on the market.
In terms of AI capabilities, the eye-tracking feature is not the only attention-grabber. The Honor Magic 6 Pro also features Magic Text, which can recognize text content in images and convert it into editable text.
This smartphone is scheduled for release in the US but will first be available in Europe with a price tag of £1,100 in the UK (around Rp 21 million).
For reference, Honor was formerly a sub-brand under the Chinese manufacturer Huawei before being sold in November 2020. It is now owned by the government-owned company Shenzhen Zhixin New Information Technology Co.
Smartphone manufacturers are flocking to implement AI to help boost the sluggish smartphone market in recent years.
In China, Honor competes fiercely with Apple and Oppo in terms of market share. Currently, Honor is also developing large-scale AI language model (LLM) integration, similar to tools like ChatGPT, to embed into its smartphones.
In 2023, Apple held a 17.3% market share in China, closely followed by Honor at 17.1%, according to IDC data.
"We strongly believe in the transformative power of collaboration, especially in the AI era," said CEO George Zhao in his official statement.