Honor has been pushing the boundaries of foldable phone hardware with the Magic V2 and Magic V3 in recent years. Its flagship Magic 7 Pro also outperforms the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra in a few ways. But hardware isn’t the whole story when you’re in the market for a new phone. Software plays a big part in buying decisions, and Honor finally seems to be working in that direction. At MWC 2025, the company announced a $10 billion Alpha Plan aimed at propelling it into the big leagues alongside Apple and Samsung.
What does the Honor Alpha Plan mean for you?
Honor wants to transition from a smartphone company to an “AI device ecosystem company.” This means you can expect more Honor products—such as wearables, tablets, and laptops—to launch globally, with better cross-device integration than ever. The company has announced deeper collaborations with Google Cloud and Qualcomm to help “revolutionize human-to-device interaction” with AI. Honor will invest $10 billion over the next five years in the Alpha Plan.
For now, Honor has revealed only a couple of AI features focused on its promised human-to-device interaction. One demo showcased Honor’s AI agent making a table reservation through a third-party service while considering traffic conditions and appointments saved in Honor Calendar. There’s no specific rollout date yet, but it is expected to arrive in international markets “in the near future.”
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The Alpha Plan also includes a new imaging technology brand called AIMage, featuring an AI Upscale tool that can restore old portraits. It will launch this month for the Honor Magic 7 Pro and Magic 7 RSR.
There’s a new “all-ecosystem file-sharing technology,” which can help you transfer data from Android to iOS and vice versa. Like Oppo’s O+ Connect for data transfer between iOS and Android, you’ll need to install the Honor Connect app on your iPhone to use this feature. Honor’s AI deepfake detection will also “soon arrive” on its latest flagship bar phones and foldable devices.
Honor is aiming for the big leagues
A focus on cross-device integration, along with seven years of Android OS upgrades, makes Honor’s approach sound a lot like Samsung’s and Apple’s, both of which already have well-established ecosystems.
From my experience, Honor’s current cross-device integration isn’t bad, but its design needs an overhaul to feel more modern. The collaborations with Google Cloud and Qualcomm are promising—Honor’s hardware has been top-notch for years, but its software has lagged behind. The Alpha Plan collaborations could help bridge that gap for the better.
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