Three years and one sword, glory this turnaround battle fought beautifully

For the smartphone market, the past 2022 has not been a good year. Affected by multiple external environmental factors, the competition in the domestic market has become more intense.

The year-on-year decline in shipments means that the rapidly developing smartphone market has entered the stock era. When the overall demand weakens and the popularization dividend disappears, domestic players can only rely on real technological breakthroughs to get out of the predicament if they want to stand out.

In the market competition that fights with each other, glory goes against the trend.

In 2022, Honor's shipments increased by more than 34% year-on-year, and its market share jumped by more than 7 percentage points, becoming the second in the domestic market. Honor is also the only company among the top five domestic smartphone manufacturers that has not experienced a decline in shipments.

On March 6, the Honor Magic5 series was officially released in China. The new Magic5 series products entering the market are expected to become another symbol of high-end flagship products of smartphones.

You know, it is only three years before the glory of independence. From the first flagship Honor V40 after independence, to the Honor 50 that passed the "darkest hour", to the return of the Magic series and the official release of the Honor Magic5, why did Honor surprise the market?

01

Become the "ideal type"

In 2022, in the domestic smartphone market, glory will swim against the current.

In the context of the decline in the overall market data, Honor's total shipments for the whole year rose rapidly to the second place, and its market share ranked first in the Chinese market in the second quarter of 2022. IDC pointed out in relevant research that in addition to the low base of the brand after independence in the same period last year, the reason why Honor was able to achieve ultra-high year-on-year growth was the good market performance of its series of products.

The main products Honor 60 series and X30 series contributed about 60% of Honor's shipments in the first quarter; In the second quarter, driven by the launch of the new Honor 70 series, it continued to maintain the momentum of rapid growth; The launch of the Honor Magic 4 series has also helped it achieve significant growth in the high-end market; At the new product launch of the Honor Magic 5 series, in addition to the ultimate version, a special edition in cooperation with luxury brand Montblanc was officially launched, which became Honor's first attempt to enter the luxury circle.

At the previously opened 2023 MWC (Mobile World Congress), the Honor Magic5 series flagship machine attracted the interest of many domestic and foreign visitors at the exhibition site. According to Twitter's official data, Honor also became the brand with the highest volume of discussion on the first day of MWC this year.

What makes Honor a fulcrum that drives the quality consumption of smartphones today?

The rising market heat is inseparable from the support of excellent product strength. This stunning appearance for the global market is the legend of Honor's "two-wheel drive" product R&D concept and solid R&D capabilities.

As CEO Zhao Ming particularly emphasized, "people-oriented" is the core concept of Honor's technological innovation, the purpose is to directly point to consumer needs and solve pain points. This is the fundamental reason why Honor has become the "ideal type" recognized by consumers.

The Honor Magic5 series released this time has made outstanding technological breakthroughs in many aspects such as imaging, battery life, and communication.

In the field of imaging, Honor once again refreshed the highest score with a DXOMARK image score of 152 points; In terms of battery life, Honor developed the "Qinghai Lake Battery" for the first time, which is also the first time that silicon-carbon anode battery technology has been commercialized in smartphones, and the battery capacity of Honor Magic5 Pro has reached 5450mAh, surpassing the endurance of flagship models such as Apple and Samsung, becoming the first in flagship battery life; In terms of communication capabilities, the Honor Magic5 series uses self-developed RF enhancement chips to create the strongest 5G mobile phone communication experience, breaking through the ceiling of mobile phone communication capabilities.

For smart phones, image capability is one of the most intuitive embodiments of the comprehensive strength of manufacturers, battery life is directly related to the overall user experience, and the level of communication directly reflects whether the manufacturer has the ability to create technical barriers.

Honor's focus on the above key points is precisely out of an accurate grasp of the pain points of users in the smartphone industry.

02

The ambition of a mobile phone

Today, the average replacement cycle of global smartphone users has exceeded 40 months, and the "slowdown in mobile phone innovation" is the main reason why many consumers do not want to switch. In the stage of stock competition, who can rely on self-developed technology breakthroughs to directly point to consumer demand and solve user pain points can truly gain a foothold in the fierce battle.

After the initial incremental user popularization dividend is exhausted, hardware products such as smartphones need more technological innovation to stimulate consumption. According to Counterpoint data, the global average price of high-end smartphones (US$400 is about 2,774 yuan) increased by more than 8% in the second quarter of last year, and more smartphone manufacturers are focusing on the research and development of higher-end models. The high-end of smart phones is already one of the important trends in the future development of the industry.

New technology jams and self-developed chips are not attractive enough, and such an industry background further tests the real technical capabilities of manufacturers.

Honor has chosen another path - focusing on the creation of product matrix and the innovation of underlying technology. From the perspective of new technologies, new features and product strategies of the Honor Magic5 series products released this time, Honor's technical research and development capabilities and product strength have been at the forefront of the industry.

Taking the "hard bone" battery technology in the development of smartphones as an example, domestic manufacturers have not made innovative breakthroughs in material selection in the past few decades.

Honor has always insisted on investing in the research and development of the underlying technology of battery materials, and the "Qinghai Lake Battery" technology launched by the Magic5 series is the latest answer of Honor. Magic5 Pro adopts a new silicon-carbon anode battery technology outside the inertial thinking of the mobile phone industry, which is currently unprecedented in the industry. Honor's silicon-carbon battery technology, combined with the optimization of Magic OS 7.1, has raised the battery capacity and battery life of flagship mobile phones to a new height. In terms of battery life, the Honor Magic5 is equipped with a 5100mAh large battery, and the battery energy density has been increased by 18%, which is the only flagship mobile phone with a thickness of less than 8mm and a battery of more than 5000mAh on the market.

In terms of mobile communication technology, the Honor Magic5 Pro Ultimate Edition is equipped with Honor's self-developed and industry's first RF enhancement chip C1, which matches the newly optimized tuning algorithm and optimizes several core scenarios of weak signals. In weak signal scenarios such as basements and basements, fast return to the network is realized, and the live broadcast is not stuttered; On the high-speed mobile subway, frequent signal tower switching can still ensure the smoothest video experience; In the elevator, the signal is quickly restored after exiting the elevator, and the game continuity is better; The call time under the weak network is far ahead, and the signal can communicate even when the signal is bottomed, which has become a new standard of communication capability.

At present, Honor has built its own technical barriers in terms of image, battery life, screen, and communication, and truly applied these technologies in products to achieve a leading experience level.

For Honor, it is deeply cultivated in the direction of all user demands, and the acquisition of market recognition is just a matter of course.

03

Glory to the choice

When it comes to glory, it is bound to be inseparable from Huawei.

Huawei not only competed with the giant Apple in the global high-end smartphone market, but even briefly ranked first in global smartphone shipments. For Huawei, from Kirin Core to Hongmeng System, Huawei's myth stems from its dedication to technology and deep cultivation.

In the past three years, Honor has faced a mature but competitive market environment. At that time, Glory once had to find bank loans for operating cash flow, every product had to be carefully calculated, and desks, chairs and benches had to be bought by themselves during office decoration. In an interview with the media, President Zhao Ming said bitterly: "We have never had such a day before, and no one gives us an umbrella anymore." ”

In such a darkest moment, Honor established four main lines of digital series, X series, Play series and Magic series in a very short time. Today's glory has grown into a technology company with the same technological innovation genes, and has run in the first echelon in the smartphone track.

Zhao Ming has said in interviews many times: "Glory is standing on Huawei's shoulders, and the best respect for President Ren and Huawei is to honor its own development better." Take Huawei, Apple, and Samsung as our competitors and surpass them. "From rebirth, rise, to the forefront of family planning in China, the achievements made by Glory in the past three years are a wonderful answer.

The year 2022 that has just passed is also the first year of glory going to sea. Going to sea means "frontal rigidity" with technology giants such as Apple and Samsung, and glory has achieved extraordinary results.

At the beginning of 2022, Honor's products have been sold to more than 100 countries, with more than 11,000 employees worldwide and 6 R&D centers in countries and regions outside China. At last year's MWC conference, Honor announced that it has initially built channels and retail systems in more than 40 countries around the world, opened business in 16 countries around the world, including Europe, Eurasia, the Middle East and Africa, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific, and established cooperation with more than 200 operators and dealers around the world.

Facing the global market and moving forward with full power may be Honor's best tribute to Huawei.

"Our glory team is still different from the team in the industry, and we are very persistent and pursued. Our philosophy of making products has not changed, we want to make the best products that impress consumers. Even if the first small bench doesn't work, the second can't work, the third definitely works, I've always had this energy. So, this is how the Magic5 series was born. Fang Fei, president of Honor Product Line, said.

For Glory, it has faced hard and fierce competition since the beginning of its business. "There are no bad times, only bad coping." This is exactly the entrepreneurial spirit of the glory "stupid bird":

Even if the journey is long, the wings of pursuit should not be and will not stop.

Author | Road deer

Edit | Wu Lixue

Co-ordination | Wang Hui

Typesetting | Quiet Mountain

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