Recently, the news of "Huawei's 5G return" and "self-developed Kirin chip return" detonated the Internet. Netizens were happy to celebrate, but they also speculated that Huawei's strong return, which friend business is the most panicked?
"Huawei's return has filled the competition with more possibilities and more charm." Honor CEO Zhao Ming, who has a deep relationship with Huawei, was also asked this question several times. He responded confidently: "Honor will come up with the strongest With advanced technology, the best experience and the best state, we will compete with Huawei on the same stage."
It is not scary to have a strong opponent, the key is to have confidence and matching strength. In fact, with its strong product strength and unprecedented innovation, Honor has already stood at the C position on the world technology stage.
On September 1, on the stage of the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show in Berlin (hereinafter referred to as IFA), Honor became the only Chinese technology brand to deliver an opening speech (IFA Opening Keynote) at the main venue in the past three years.
After nearly three years of independence, Glory has long since faded from its youthfulness, and has grown into an eagle soaring high. With outstanding product innovation breakthroughs, Honor has blazed a path of differentiation and built systematic capabilities that are sufficient to face any powerful opponent in the world.
Facing Huawei, which is returning with 5G, and Apple, which is about to release a new generation of iPhone 15, how will Honor respond?
The opening of IFA, standing on stage C
On various world-class technology stages, although Chinese technology companies often participate, foreign technology companies have always played the leading role.
IFA held in Berlin, Germany, is one of the largest and most authoritative consumer electronics exhibitions in the world. Over the past century, it has also been dominated by foreign companies.
But today is different from the past. With the advancement of science and technology, Chinese companies are increasingly taking the C position.
On September 1, Zhao Ming, CEO of Honor, stood on the stage of IFA and delivered an opening keynote speech entitled "Expanding the Future". Subsequently, two blockbuster products were shown to the world: Honor's latest folding screen flagship Magic V2, and the folding screen Honor V Purse concept machine that integrates extreme technology and sustainable fashion.
△Source: Zhao Ming Weibo
The folding screen products and technologies brought by Honor are so recognized by the organizers of IFA, which is inseparably related to the current mobile phone market environment. Due to the sluggish mobile phone market and the continuous decline in shipments for many years, there is a certain degree of pessimism in the industry, and innovative products are urgently needed to boost confidence.
The innovative technological breakthrough of the folding screen is the shot in the arm. Honor's participation in this exhibition has been favored by the organizer's heavy resources. It is precisely because of its leadership in the field of folding screens that it has been recognized by the organizer as representing the evolution direction of future consumer electronics.
According to Counterpoint data, global shipments of folding screen smartphones will usher in strong growth. From 2019 to 2025, its compound annual growth rate will reach 114%, and it is expected to reach 55 million units.
In this wave that represents the future trend, mainstream mobile phone manufacturers except Apple are busy launching their own iterative folding machines, hoping to gain a certain first-mover advantage.
However, the ones most likely to succeed are not necessarily the pioneers, but must be masters.
The Magic V2 released by Honor is such a "hexagonal warrior". Made a major breakthrough and became the bright star in the current market.
Excellent product power has led to good sales performance. Magic V2 has been very popular since it was launched. It has occupied the number one product share in the folding screen market for 4 consecutive weeks, and has become a thriving existence among competing products. Since its release, Honor's market share in China has occupied the first position for four consecutive weeks, reaching a maximum of 19.5%.
On the IFA stage this time, Honor has brought more breakthrough thinking about the future evolution of folding screens. The Honor V Purse, a stylish foldable screen with a large outer fold that debuted for the first time, looks like a wallet. It organically integrates the sense of technology and design to create a new generation of products with a more cutting-edge temperament, which is expected to lead the way of life in the future.
"When you jump out of the original misunderstanding of thinking, you will find that there are answers everywhere, and the original thinking is far from the ultimate." Zhao Ming once explained the concept of product innovation in this way.
This pioneering idea of breaking the original framework has won the high recognition of the audience for Glory. This year's IFA won a number of "Best of IFA" awards from the world's authoritative media, and also made this stage a success in its third year of independence. Honor "shows products, innovations, and brands in all directions in the global market."
Worldwide, Chinese folding screen products are already at the forefront of the industry. Counterpoint predicts in related reports that Chinese smartphone brands will continue to lead the domestic folding screen mobile phone market and further capture more market share through overseas expansion.
This judgment is in line with Honor's current development pace. In recent years, Honor's high-end globalization strategy has been continuously consolidated. With continuous breakthroughs and innovations, it will flex its muscles in larger overseas markets.
Chinese technology companies are increasingly becoming a leading force in the development of the technology industry.
Reconstruct thinking, be the leader of folding screen
Perhaps many people will wonder, from the perspective of market share, Honor has not yet achieved an absolute lead, so why can it stand at the C position on the world technology stage?
"Yidian Finance" observed that Honor conquered IFA participating companies and European consumers with two outstanding features: first , it restructured its thinking and led the revolutionary innovation of folding screens; second, it was human-centered and driven by two wheels.
In the book "The Innovator's Dilemma", the management guru Christensen pointed out: If a company pays too much attention to the current needs of customers, it will lead to a decline in innovation, so that it will not be able to open up new markets, and will be more flexible and entrepreneurial. The best enterprises can base themselves on innovation and grasp the next wave of industrial growth.
It emphasizes that it is those critical, breakthrough technologies that are temporarily rejected by mainstream customers that gradually evolve into "disruptive innovations" that dominate new markets.
At present, folding screen technology is a "disruptive innovation" that represents the future trend. Only companies that take a long-term view and adhere to long-termism can lead the wave of industry development.
Honor Magic V2 realizes creative thinking in multiple dimensions such as product, technology, and experience, breaks the boundary between candy bar and folding, and creates a comprehensive experience that is not inferior to the flagship candy bar.
For example, in terms of thinness and lightness, the Honor Magic V2 has achieved an unprecedented breakthrough. The closed state is as thin as 9.9mm, bringing the folding screen into the "millimeter era" for the first time. At the same time, it has achieved the lightest 231 grams (Honor Magic V2 PU version). The specifications of the products of competitors in the same period have achieved leading advantages. The newly released Honor V Purse further expands its advantages with a thickness thinner than 9mm.
△Honor Magic V2's light and thin design breakthrough Source: Honor official website
Behind the leading innovation is the creative thinking that breaks the traditional design framework. Honor has brought this to the extreme, using more than 210 technological breakthroughs to fully restructure the mobile phone.
On the hinge of the key component of the folding screen mobile phone, Honor has developed shield-grade high-strength steel materials, and at the same time used titanium alloy materials and 3D printing technology in the aerospace field to ensure the strength, durability and reliability of the hinge.
Regardless of the ever-changing products, they are for people to use in the final analysis, and all development directions should be people-centered, which coincides with Honor's consistent two-wheel drive.
From the perspective of consumers, the user experience of folding screens not only represents the evolution direction of the product itself, but also affects the lifestyle of consumers and carries the self-expression of users.
"On Honor V Purse, what we want to achieve is that in the future consumer experience of folding screens, it is not only functional, it can also meet our needs for fashion and emotional expression," said Zhao Ming. .
The Honor V Purse released this time has once again expanded the category value of folding screens in the way of dimension-enhancing thinking. Users can customize it arbitrarily according to their own preferences and tastes, and integrate it into their daily life. Since then, folding screens no longer only have basic tool attributes, but have been expanded to more levels of meaning in life.
△ Honor V Purse Source: Official Weibo of Honor Mobile
According to Zhao Ming, the reason why the Honor V Purse is defined as a concept phone is that it is ready for non-commercial use at the beginning of research and development. The purpose is to allow R&D personnel to let go of their burdens, incorporate more thinking into the product, and make the best product according to their own imagination. "Often such a product will not have a reason why it cannot survive in the market."
It is precisely because of this borderless and inclusive product concept that the public recognition of Honor = folding screen mobile phones has been successfully created at this IFA.
Honor has set itself the goal of "the world's strongest folding screen brand", and its competitors are not limited to the category of folding screens.
"The goal and concept of the Honor Magic V2 is to allow consumers to experience a folding screen like a straight machine," Zhao Ming is extremely confident. "Magic V2 is the straight flagship among folding screens, and the folding flagship among straight flagships."
Where there are challengers, there are winners. Honor has established a leading edge in the field of folding screens, and it is not afraid of competition from powerful competitors such as Huawei, Apple, and Samsung.
Build a closed business loop and conquer the global market
The eagle with wings spreads its wings, aiming far away. A truly large-scale enterprise will not hide in the comfort zone forever. Pioneering and enterprising is the imprint of the soul engraved in the bones.
"Constructing the three pillars of ambition, specialization, and globalization, combined with long-term strategy, is the secret to the success of the 'hidden champion'," said Hermann Simon, a famous German management scholar.
The pace of development of Honor is in line with the meaning of the title of "hidden champion". Its globalization strategy is steadily advancing and has achieved considerable results.
"Honor has established a complete overseas sales, service and marketing system since its independence," Zhao Ming once said. "Honor has established a system that pays equal attention to the Chinese domestic market and the global market when it started."
As early as February this year, on the stage of MWC, the dual flagship strategy of the Honor Magic series "folding screen + all-round flagship" officially landed on the world, formulating a strategic framework for overseas development; this time IFA, Honor even more with a very breakthrough Folding screen products and technologies have proved its strong innovation leadership.
In addition, with the trend of success, Honor's folding screen products will be launched overseas at a faster pace, and strive to replicate the success of Magic V2 in the domestic market in the global market. At the same time, digital series products will also accelerate the layout.
As Zhao Ming said, "Honor always adheres to the closed loop of the lowest-level business logic, and does not pursue pure and high-speed development, but is down-to-earth and continues to maintain high-quality layout."
So far, Honor has laid a good foundation for exploring overseas markets.
Everyone dreams of becoming a hero who influences the world and changes the direction of the industry. To achieve this, we need to look up to the stars and keep our feet on the ground.
"We must use the certainty of strategic investment to face the uncertainty of the future," Zhao Ming revealed: "Honor has invested heavily in the field of folding screens in recent years, and the research and development investment of a folding screen is close to 1 billion."
Honor insists on investing 10% of its annual revenue in R&D. Currently, the R&D team alone has absorbed nearly 8,000 outstanding talents from all over the world. Such research and development intensity ranks among the best among domestic mobile phone brands, providing sufficient support for product research and development.
From the current point of view, in terms of influencing the world, Glory's performance is outstanding. Compared with the same period in 2022, in the first half of 2023, Honor's shipments in the European market and the Middle East and Africa markets have increased by more than 130%, and shipments in the Latin American market have increased by more than 230%.
Regarding the future gains of Honor's strategic layout, Zhao Ming said: the global and European folding screen markets will not only double the growth due to the release of the Honor Magic V2, but a 200% or 300% growth, and we will accelerate the candy bar flagship. The process of evolution and migration from machine to folding screen is our original intention.
With Honor's strides forward in the global market, Chinese technology brands are accelerating their strides in overseas markets. Due to some objective reasons, Huawei is stuck in the Chinese market, and its expansion in the world market has been hindered. The differentiation situation of "Huawei in China and Honor in the world" is emerging.
Behind this is the strength of revolutionary innovation and the resilience of bottoming out that Honor has been independent for three years. It has made a strong return from the trough of 3% market share.
With the return of Huawei's 5G, the peak confrontation in the mobile phone market is exciting. In this battle, a group of Chinese technology companies have continued to evolve in the battle for hegemony, standing on the top of the wave of the times.