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Honor (brand)

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Honor Device Co., Ltd.
Native name
荣耀
Company typeState-owned enterprise
IndustryConsumer electronics, mobile internet
Founded2013; 11 years ago (2013)
HeadquartersShenzhen, China
Area served
Worldwide (except US)
Key people
George Zhao
ProductsSmartphones, laptops, wearables, accessories
ParentHuawei (2013–2020)
Shenzhen Zhixin New Information Technology Co., Ltd. (2020 (2020)–present)
Websitehonor.com
Honor
Simplified Chinese荣耀
Traditional Chinese榮耀
Literal meaningGlory
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinRóngyào
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutpingwing4 jiu6

Honor Device Co., Ltd., commonly known as HONOR (simplified Chinese: 荣耀; traditional Chinese: 榮耀; pinyin: Róngyào), is a Chinese consumer electronics company majority-owned by Shenzhen Zhixin New Information Technology Co. Ltd. It was formerly a subsidiary of Huawei, who sold the brand in November 2020.[1] Honor develops smartphones, tablet computers, wearables and mobile device softwares.

History

[edit]
Logo from 2013 to 2018
Logo since 2018
Standard
Chromatic
Honor store in Hangzhou

Honor was founded in 2013 as a Huawei sub-brand.[2] Honor's line of smartphones allowed Huawei to compete with mid-range online smartphone brands in China and globally.[3][4][5] Honor primarily sells products online, but some Honor products are also available at stores in selected markets.[6][7]

On 15 May 2019, the US government imposed a ban on Huawei and its subsidiary Honor. In particular, this prevented the availability of rapid security updates and apps such as the Play Store, Google Maps and Gmail on Honor smartphones.[8]

In order to establish independence from Huawei and thus "ensure" Honor's continued existence, the brand and the associated business areas were sold to the company Shenzhen Zhixin New Information Technology Co., Ltd.,[1][9] a newly founded conglomerate of 30 Chinese companies, some of which have close ties to the government.[10][11] The founder and main shareholder of the conglomerate is Shenzhen Smart City Technology Development Group Co, a state-controlled company owned by the Shenzhen City Government.[1][11][12] On 17 November 2020, Huawei announced that it had sold Honor entirely.[13]

Timeline of international expansion

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Honor began to offer its products internationally in 2014,[2] launching the Honor 3C in April in Malaysia,[14] followed by the Honor 6 in Europe in October.[15] By June 2015, the brand was available in 74 countries.[5] In October that year, announced to increase revenue to $5 billion with plans to focus on India.[16][17]

In 2015, Honor's Vmall online store, previously available only in China, launched in Europe and the United Kingdom, enabling direct purchases from the manufacturer.[18][19][20]

Honor made its debut in the United States with the release of the Huawei Honor 5X at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2016.[21][6] Initially available for online purchase only, the Huawei Honor 5X was later made available at select brick and mortar stores.[21] Also this year Honor started to sell the first fitness-trackers.[2]

In August 2016, Recode reported that Honor had sold over 60 million products, generating over $8.4 billion in revenue.[22]

In January 2017 at CES, Honor announced that the Honor 6X, previously available only in China, would be available in thirteen new markets, including the United States.[23][24] The phone earned "best of CES 2017" accolades from several technology publications, including Android Authority,[25][26] Digital Trends,[27] Slash Gear,[28] and Talk Android.[29]

In 2018 Honor started to sell laptops and smartwatches, in 2019 earbuds and TVs.[2]

Since the US sanctions and the brand sale to Shenzhen Zhixin New Information Technology in 2020 Honor has maintained its presence in the Indian market and launched laptops and wearables through e-commerce platforms.[30] The first non-Huawei phone, the V40, was released in January 2021[31] and with the Honor 50 release in December 2021 they provided the first smartphone that supported Google Play Services again.[32] Globally, the brand has decided to focus aggressively on the foldable smartphone, with the intent to provide high-end foldables at affordable prices.[30]

Products

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The company offers smartphones and tablets with Android and the EMUI and Magic UI user interfaces, Windows laptops, wearables, earbuds, TVs, and smart home devices.[2]

Smartphones

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Honor 8 from 2016

Honor's main smartphone series progresses numerically in increments of 10 over the generations. The current device (as of November 2023) is the Honor 90. Sometimes, "Lite" and "Pro" sibling models are also released.[2]

Honor's second line of smartphones has different names depending on where they are marketed. In China, this line is known as the V series, while internationally, the phones are marketed under the name "View." For example, while the Honor V30 was released in China, it was known as the Honor View 30 elsewhere. This series is typically used to test features that eventually make their way into the flagship line.[2]

Another key series in Honor's smartphone lineup is the X series, a budget-friendly series with large screens and long-lasting batteries. The latest generations of X phones featured popup cameras and were sometimes available in Pro and Lite variants.[2]

Finally, Honor has revived its Magic line with the premium devices Honor Magic 3 and the foldable Magic V. It appears that Honor will use this model designation more frequently in the future.[2] In 2023, Honor brought its first foldable smartphone, the Honor Magic VS, to the European market.

In addition to the main series mentioned above, Honor also has less widely known series at generally lower prices, such as the S, A, I, and C series, which also follow the generation numbering scheme.[2]

Notebooks

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In April 2018,[33] the first notebook of the brand, the MagicBook, was released.[34] The series has been continued regularly as Honor's only laptop series.

TVs

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In 2019, Honor launched its first two TVs, the Vision and Vision Pro. So far, no successors have been released.[2]

Wearables

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Since 2016, Honor has been offering fitness trackers and, since 2018, smartwatches.[2] These products are marketed under the names Honor Watch (smartwatches) and Honor Band (fitness trackers).

Audio

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Since 2019, Honor has released wireless earbuds under various model series.[2]

MagicOS

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MagicOS
DeveloperHonor, previously Huawei before the split[1]
OS familyAndroid, Linux, Unix-like
Working stateCurrent
Source modelFree software with proprietary components
Initial releaseDecember 2016; 8 years ago (2016-12)
Latest releaseMagicOS 8.0 / January 2024; 11 months ago (2024-01)
Update methodFirmware over-the-air
Package managerHONOR App Market[35] and APK files
Platforms32 and 64-bit ARM
Kernel typeMulti-kernel (with Linux kernel base on Android and microkernel for animations)
LicenseGNU General Public License v3,
Apache License 2.0,
Proprietary
Official websitewww.hihonor.com/global/magic-os

MagicOS[36] (formerly known as Magic UI, and Magic Live UI),[37] is an Android-derived mobile operating system developed by Chinese technology company Honor. It is used on the company's smartphones and tablets.[38]

History

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MagicOS was originally developed by Huawei before the split in November 2020, it was rebranded EMUI with minor aesthetic difference for HONOR devices. Before the split, high-end HONOR devices were running on Magic UI while medium to low-end devices continued to run on EMUI.

It has gone through several name changes throughout it introduction, which initially known as Magic Live when it was introduced on the first HONOR Magic phone, and again renamed to Magic UI[39] with the introduction of HONOR Magic 2, which they renamed it again on 2022 to MagicOS.


Version history

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Version Android version history Year of release Last stable release
Magic Live Android Marshmallow (6.x) 2016 1.1
Magic UI 2.x Android Pie (9) 2018 2.1
Magic UI 3.x Android 10 2019 3.1
Magic UI 4.x Android 11 2020 4.2
Magic UI 5.x Android 10 and Android 11 2021 5.1
Magic UI 6.x Android 12 2022 6.1
MagicOS 7.x [40] Android 13 2023 7.2
MagicOS 8.x [41] Android 14 2024 8.0

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Huawei selling Honor phone brand in face of US sanctions". Associated Press. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Tom Bedford (20 January 2022). "What are Honor phones? A guide to the company and its smartphones". TechRadar. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  3. ^ Lai, Richard (16 December 2013). "Huawei's Honor brand challenges Xiaomi with 3X and 3C low-cost phones". Engadget. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  4. ^ Stinson, Ben (22 January 2015). "Huawei Honor 3C review". TechRadar. Future plc. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  5. ^ a b Kan, Michael (30 June 2015). "Huawei's Honor brand strives to become global". CIO magazine. International Data Group. Archived from the original on 1 June 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  6. ^ a b Boxall, Andy (13 January 2016). "Huawei Honor 7 Review". Digital Trends. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  7. ^ Ellis, Tomos (4 June 2015). "Honor 4X review". TechRadar. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  8. ^ Nakashima, Ellen; Whalen, Jeanne (19 September 2021). "Key security agencies split over whether to blacklist former Huawei smartphone unit". The Washington Post. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  9. ^ Livingston, Scott (11 December 2020). "Huawei, HONOR, and China's Evolving State Capitalist Tool Kit". www.csis.org.
  10. ^ "Honor: Huawei hat wohl einen Käufer gefunden". computerbild.de (in German). 17 November 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Huawei verkauft Honor an die chinesische Regierung". Galaxus (in German). 18 November 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  12. ^ "Huawei verkauft Smartphone-Tochtermarke Honor". heise online (in German). 17 November 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  13. ^ "Statement". huawei. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  14. ^ "Quad-Core Huawei Honor 3C To Be Available In Malaysia On 29 April, Might Costs Under RM 600". Lowyat.NET. 21 April 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  15. ^ Boxall, Andy (29 October 2014). "Huawei tries something new, relaunches the Honor 6 smartphone without the Huawei name". Digital Trends. OCLC 810203593. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  16. ^ "Aiming to double profit, Huawei's Honor brand eyes India". The Economic Times. The Times Group. 7 October 2015. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  17. ^ Khan, Danish (10 October 2015). "Huawei planning to make smartphones in India". The Economic Times. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  18. ^ "Huawei P8 Sells Out in One Day". PhoneArena. 24 April 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  19. ^ "Huawei Honor 7 to launch in the UK for less than £200". GSM Arena. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  20. ^ Hanson, Matt (July 2016). "Honor 7 review". TechRadar. Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  21. ^ a b Palenchar, Joseph (15 June 2016). "Huawei's Honor Brand Adds Brick-and-Mortar Sales". Twice. NewBay Media. ISSN 0892-7278. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  22. ^ Fried, Ina (16 August 2016). "Despite its tiny U.S. market share, China's Huawei is launching a second brand here". Recode. Vox Media. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  23. ^ "CES 2017: Huawei announces global launch of Honor 6x, priced at $249". Firstpost. 5 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2 June 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  24. ^ Woollaston, Victoria (3 January 2017). "CES 2017: Honor unveils a £225 handset with a two-day battery life". Wired. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  25. ^ Grush, Andrew (10 January 2017). "Best of CES 2017: the most impressive products from the show". Android Authority. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  26. ^ Banerjee, Ankit (10 January 2017). "Interview with Honor VP Zack Zhang at CES 2017". Android Authority. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  27. ^ "Digital Trends Top Tech of CES 2017 Award Winners". Digital Trends. Archived from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  28. ^ Davies, Chris (8 January 2017). "The Best of CES 2017". Slash Gear. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  29. ^ Herrick, Justin (9 January 2017). "Talk Android Best of CES 2017 Awards". Talk Android. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  30. ^ a b Khan, Danish (5 September 2023). "How Honor plans to make its comeback into Indian market". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  31. ^ Kharpal, Arjun (22 January 2021). "Honor launches first phone since being sold by Huawei after U.S. sanctions". CNBC. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  32. ^ Conway, Adam (31 October 2021). "Honor 50 Review: Google Services were sorely missed". XDA Developers. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  33. ^ "Huawei Honor MagicBooK Laptop Full Specification". Gizmochina. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  34. ^ "Here is Honor's First Laptop, The Honor MagicBook in Pictures". Gizmochina. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  35. ^ HONOR App Market, retrieved 8 June 2023
  36. ^ MagicOS 7.1, retrieved 8 June 2023
  37. ^ Honor Magic, retrieved 8 June 2023
  38. ^ Roy, Richard. "Tactile Brand". Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  39. ^ Wright, Arol (18 November 2019). "Android 10-based Magic UI 3.0 update rolls out for the Honor View 20 and Honor 20". XDA Developers. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  40. ^ Honor MagicOS 7.0 Official Introduction, retrieved 22 November 2022
  41. ^ Honor MagicOs 8.0 Official Introduction, retrieved 25 November 2023
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