Honor is attempting this expansion with considerably fewer resources than Huawei possessed
From the wreckage of Huawei's fall under U.S. sanctions, Honor has emerged as an independent company with ambitions that reach far beyond its Chinese home. With the launch of its Magic V2 foldable phone into European markets by early 2024, Honor is attempting something that requires more than engineering excellence — it requires the slow, patient construction of trust in markets where loyalty to Apple and Samsung runs deep. The company carries a familiar strategy into unfamiliar territory, knowing that the road from respected product to respected brand is measured not in quarters, but in years.
- Honor is racing to prove its independence matters, bringing a premium foldable phone to Europe just as the global market begins to take the category seriously.
- The company's entire international ambition rests on a narrow foundation — 78% of its shipments still come from China, leaving it exposed if global expansion stalls.
- Apple and Samsung don't just outspend Honor on marketing; they outspend it on the kind of decade-long brand-building that no single flagship device can shortcut.
- Honor is betting that Huawei's old playbook — top-tier specs at prices that undercut rivals — can work again, even with a fraction of Huawei's former resources.
- The Magic V2 is landing well with reviewers, but positive reception and genuine market traction are two very different destinations on the same road.
Honor, the smartphone maker spun off from Huawei after U.S. sanctions dismantled its former parent, is pushing into the premium global market with its Magic V2 foldable phone. Launched in China in July 2023 at around $1,235, the device is set to reach Europe and select international markets by Q1 2024 — though the United States is not on the list.
The Magic V2 is Honor's second foldable, arriving with a triple-lens camera and Qualcomm's latest processor. Early reception in China has been encouraging, and the phone represents the clearest signal yet of where Honor wants to position itself: alongside, and eventually against, the industry's most powerful players.
Honor's story cannot be told without Huawei's. When sanctions cut Huawei off from critical technology and reduced it from the world's largest phone maker to a marginal one, Honor was sold to a consortium of investors and reborn as an independent company. It has since been quietly rebuilding, targeting the premium segment where margins are higher and brand identity is everything.
The strategy Honor is following is recognizable — it is essentially Huawei's pre-sanction approach of pairing high-end specifications with competitive pricing to gain footholds in mature markets like Europe and the UK. But as IDC analyst Simon Baker noted, Honor is executing this playbook with far fewer resources than Huawei once commanded. The scale, R&D depth, and marketing reach that Apple and Samsung deploy almost routinely remain well beyond Honor's current reach.
With roughly 5.2% global market share and heavy dependence on China, Honor's international expansion is both necessary and uncertain. Good products can open doors, but building the kind of brand loyalty that sustains a premium smartphone business takes years of sustained presence and investment. The Magic V2's journey into European hands will be an early measure of whether Honor can close that gap — or whether the distance is still too great.
Honor, the Chinese smartphone maker that was spun off from Huawei just a few years ago, is making a deliberate push into the premium phone market with a new foldable device called the Magic V2. The phone launched in China in July 2023 at a starting price of about $1,235, and the company has announced it will bring the device to Europe and other international markets by the end of the first quarter of 2024—though notably, not to the United States.
The Magic V2 represents Honor's second attempt at a foldable smartphone, and it arrives fully loaded with the kind of specifications that define a high-end device: a triple-lens camera system and Qualcomm's latest mobile processor. The phone's entire screen folds and unfolds, a feature that remains relatively rare and expensive in the smartphone market. In China, where Honor has its strongest foothold, the device appears to have gotten off to a solid start, though international pricing has not yet been announced.
Honor's path to this moment is inseparable from Huawei's collapse. When U.S. sanctions devastated Huawei's smartphone business, cutting it off from critical technology and reducing the company from the world's largest phone maker to a marginal player, Honor was sold to a consortium of investors and spun off as an independent company. Since then, Honor has been working to establish itself as a serious player in the global market, particularly in the premium segment where margins are higher and brand matters enormously.
The company's strategy mirrors what Huawei did before the sanctions hit: build phones with cutting-edge technology and competitive pricing, then use those products to gain traction in mature markets like Europe and the United Kingdom. Currently, Honor holds about 5.2% of the global smartphone market, a modest share that has grown only slightly from 4.9% a year earlier. The company remains heavily dependent on China, which accounts for nearly 78% of its total smartphone shipments. This geographic concentration underscores both Honor's strength at home and its vulnerability abroad.
Industry analysts see Honor's playbook as a calculated bet. Simon Baker, who directs mobile phone research for IDC in Europe, told CNBC that Honor is essentially following Huawei's pre-sanction strategy of emphasizing top-tier technology and specifications at prices that undercut the competition. But he also noted a critical difference: Honor is attempting this expansion with considerably fewer resources than Huawei possessed at its peak. The company lacks the scale, research and development budget, and marketing firepower that Apple and Samsung wield almost casually.
That resource gap matters because building a respected smartphone brand takes years, Baker explained. Honor's phones are being well received as products—reviewers and early adopters generally praise them—but positive reviews alone do not translate into the kind of brand loyalty and market presence that Apple and Samsung have spent decades constructing. Those two companies dominate the premium segment through a combination of scale advantages, massive R&D investments, and marketing budgets that dwarf what Honor can spend. For Honor to succeed internationally, it will need not just good phones but the kind of sustained visibility and trust that money and time can build.
The Magic V2's arrival in Europe and beyond will be a test of whether Honor can overcome these structural disadvantages. The company is betting that premium specifications at competitive prices can carve out space in markets where consumers have choices. Whether that bet pays off will depend partly on execution and partly on whether the world's smartphone buyers are ready to trust a brand that, until recently, was synonymous with Huawei.
Notable Quotes
Honor appears to be following Huawei's playbook in its successful big push in the global smartphone market before U.S. actions set it in reverse, and is aiming for a largely upmarket portfolio with an emphasis on top notch technology and specs.— Simon Baker, IDC director of mobile phone research in Europe
Apple and Samsung both have huge advantages in scale and R&D resources and marketing clout. It takes years to become a well known and respected name in the phone business.— Simon Baker, IDC
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does it matter that Honor is launching this phone outside China now? Isn't it just another foldable?
It matters because Honor is trying to become a global premium brand after being cut loose from Huawei. This phone is the proof of concept—can they compete with Apple and Samsung on their home turf?
But they're not coming to the U.S., right?
Correct. Europe first. The U.S. market is probably too risky or too locked down for them right now. Europe is where they think they can gain credibility without facing the same regulatory headwinds.
What's the actual challenge here? They have good specs and lower prices.
Brand trust. Samsung and Apple spent decades building reputations. Honor has been independent for only a few years. A good product doesn't automatically make people want to buy from you.
So this is a long game?
Exactly. They're planting seeds in Europe, building market share slowly, hoping that positive word-of-mouth and product quality eventually add up to a real brand presence.
What happens if it doesn't work?
Then Honor remains a strong player in China but never becomes a true global competitor. They'd be profitable but regional, not world-class.