Honor embarks on a transformative journey from smartphone manufacturer to a holistic AI device ecosystem company, unveiling innovative connected devices and cloud-linked services at Mobile World Congress 2026.
HONOR is recasting itself as a global AI device ecosystem company, signalling a move beyond its roots as a smartphone maker into a broader business built around connected hardware, cloud-linked services and artificial intelligence. According to the company’s latest announcement, the shift is intended to make devices work more seamlessly together, with AI at the centre of that experience.
The clearest expression of that strategy is the HONOR Robot Phone, which the company describes as a new category of device rather than an incremental handset update. HONOR says the product is part of a wider push towards an open AI device ecosystem, supported by the HONOR AI Connect Platform and a personal digital twin that can move across devices. The company has said it wants to integrate more than 20,000 AI services by the end of 2026.
That plan builds on the HONOR Alpha strategy first outlined at Mobile World Congress 2025, when the company set out a three-step shift from smartphone manufacturer to AI ecosystem player. The roadmap included an AI agent-powered smartphone, AiMAGE imaging technology and partnerships with groups such as Google Cloud and Qualcomm to deepen its AI capabilities. HONOR has also pointed to its collaboration with ARRI in mobile imaging as evidence that it wants to compete on software and computational photography, not only on hardware design.
The commercial case for the strategy, the company says, is already visible in its recent performance. HONOR reported 25% year-on-year growth in the first quarter of 2026, making it, according to its own figures, the only Chinese smartphone brand to post positive growth in that period. Overseas revenue accounted for more than half of total revenue, while its foldable phones remained among the top two globally.
The brand is also trying to build a less utilitarian identity around the technology. HONOR has used partnerships with major events and designer toy brands to broaden its appeal to younger consumers and frame itself as a more creative, lifestyle-led company. Its long-running “Dare to be” slogan remains part of that positioning, but the message now is broader: HONOR wants to be seen not just as a phone brand, but as a company shaping how AI devices are designed, linked and used.
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