Global technology brand Honor has unveiled a new corporate strategy aimed at transforming the smartphone maker into a global artificial intelligence (AI) device ecosystem company.

More than $10-billion will be invested over the next five years to fund the three-step Honor Alpha Plan.

“It is clear that the AI revolution will reshape the paradigm of the device industry – completely transforming our productivity, our society and even our culture more than ever before,” says Honor CEO James Li.

The Honor Alpha Plan starts with the development of an intelligent phone, with Honor working with partners to open technology boundaries to co-create a “new paradigm for AI devices in the agentic AI era”.

“The envisioned intelligent phone that is central to the first step will embed human-centric AI that is purpose-built to maximise human potential.”

To reach the second step of its strategic plan, Honor calls on the industry to open up its AI capabilities for a wider range of devices, enabling seamless collaboration as Honor co-creates a value-sharing ecosystem with global partners.

“I am calling on all of us to unite together to address the challenges – as well as the many opportunities – of AI technology. I also call on the industry to be truly open so that we can fully embrace this exciting AI future. Let us do it together,” Li says.

Representatives from Google Cloud, Qualcomm Technologies, CKH Group, Orange, Telefónica and Vodafone joined Li on stage at the Mobile World Congress, held in Spain from March 3 to 6, to officiate a tree-lighting ceremony.

“By illuminating a tree of light representing the AI ecosystem and AI devices, the ceremony symbolised the collaboration of industry partners to co-develop the AI device ecosystem that will serve every consumer worldwide,” Li explains.

“Honor has presented a bold new vision for a future where AI will underpin every facet of the device user experience. We are excited to partner with Honor to integrate our technology and power the next generation of AI devices,” says Qualcomm Technologies mobile, compute, XR and wearables group GM Alex Katouzian.

Google Cloud is also working closely with Honor to deeply integrate Google’s Gemini AI models into Honor solutions, and create new possibilities for users around the world that were never before possible, while protecting their data security and user privacy, adds Google Cloud global solutions and consumer AI MD Matt Waldbusser.

During a technology showcase, in collaboration with Google Cloud and Qualcomm Technologies, Honor demonstrated how an AI agent can help make a table reservation through a third-party service while taking into consideration appointments saved in the Honor Calendar and traffic information.

Honor’s new brand for imaging technology, AiMAGE, which is powered by the AI Kernel, the industry’s first solution to support device-cloud AI models, is transforming mobile photography.

Locally, the on-device model supports a 1.3-billion parameter model to generate a 50% uplift in image clarity, while the cloud counterpart benefits from a larger scale of computing resources, running a 12.4-billion parameter model to massively enhance the quality of telephoto images.

Equally important in AiMAGE is the AI ecosystem component.

“Through collaborating with partners, including Google Cloud, Honor will continue improving the versatility of its imaging offerings by integrating more intuitive AI features into its smartphones,” says Li.

The new AI upscale feature for restoring old portraits will be rolled out gradually to the Honor Magic7 series, powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform, starting this month.

Honor pledged to provide seven years of Android OS and security updates for its Honor Magic series, starting in the European Union market.

The company also introduced a first all-ecosystem file-sharing technology, with which users can enjoy ultra-fast speeds, whether transferring files to one or many iOS and Android devices.

Additionally, the brand also announced that AI Deepfake detection will soon arrive in its latest flagship bar phones and foldable phones in international markets.

Honor further committed to accelerating its sustainability initiatives to reach operational carbon neutrality by 2040, five years ahead of its initial goal, as well as a plan to achieve carbon neutrality across its entire supply chain and products by 2050.