While Apple and Samsung have traditionally dominated the smartphone market, the AI era is seeing the rise of many new names.
At MWC 2025, Honor announced an ambitious AI Alpha Plan that should make tech giants nervous. Honor CEO James Li highlighted the company’s shift from just making smartphones and tablets to developing devices in an AI (artificial intelligence) ecosystem that encourages open collaboration.
Honor wants to create an open AI ecosystem.
Specifically, Honor announced partnerships with Qualcomm and Google Cloud to develop AI technology for an era where AI systems act and make decisions on behalf of users. In particular, the company introduced an AI assistant that can make restaurant reservations through OpenTable based on the user's schedule, traffic, and preferences.
In fact, Honor is no stranger to the AI field. Previously, the Magic Portal feature introduced with the Magic V3 foldable smartphone received much praise. Now, at MWC 2025, James Li affirmed that Honor's goal is not only to add AI features to phones but also to transform itself into an AI ecosystem company, developing solutions across multiple devices and platforms.
Instead of being closed like Galaxy AI or Apple Intelligence currently.
Apple and Samsung have time to worry
Honor’s ambitious Alpha Plan goal is sure to give companies like Apple, Google, and Samsung pause, or even take it as a lesson. While these brands have integrated AI into their products, the features are often limited to their own ecosystems. For example, many of Samsung’s AI features only work on Galaxy devices, while Apple’s Intelligence is only available on select iPhone models.
Honor, on the other hand, is aiming to build an open AI ecosystem that benefits the entire industry, not just the Chinese company's devices. Honor has even decided to invest more than $10 billion over the next 10 years in this vision.
The Honor Magic 7 Pro is the first product to benefit from Honor's Alpha Plan.
One of Honor’s first consumer-friendly moves was its commitment to providing seven years of OS updates for its flagship devices, starting with the Honor Magic 7 Pro. Furthermore, the company also introduced an eco-contact file sharing system that works between Android and iOS devices as a testament to the company’s commitment to creating a better user experience.
With these bold moves, Honor is posing a major challenge to the tech giants and could reshape the future of the smartphone industry.
