This year, the MWC is inseparable from two other letters which are conspicuously displayed on the majority of showrooms: AI (artificial intelligence). Having become a major axis in the strategy of tech giants, AI is everywhere, notably at the Chinese brand Honor, which has just presented the Magic 6 Pro, its new high-end smartphone.
A launch with great fanfare
Accompanied by Cristiano Amon, boss of Qualcomm, George Zhao, CEO of Honor, unveiled during this conference a strategy focused on the integration of AI across the entire range of brand products, which includes smartphones, tablets, and even computers. Many functions already announced in China were presented, such as Magic Ring, which allows fluid interaction between different Honor devices, offering features such as the slide d from one screen to another, or even taking photos from a computer using the smartphone, all without tedious configuration.
The Honor Magic 6 Pro, which we have already been able to test, is also equipped out of the box with the MagicOS 8.0 interface, based on Android 14, and will quickly be enriched with new features such as its ChatGPT-type generative AI model called MagicLM, or even Magic Capsule and Magic Portal.
Magic Capsule takes advantage of the pill-shaped notch on the smartphone screen, similar to Apple’s Dynamic Island, to offer users instant access to an app after ¨s a notification, the management of an incoming call, a timer, the dictaphone, or even the control of a music playlist. Equipped with eye-tracking technology, it will also be possible to know precisely where on the screen the user is looking, which gave rise to a detection astonishing demonstration where the user managed to control a car thanks to the eye tracking system which equips the Magic 6 Pro, powered by artificial intelligence.
Another feature mentioned, Magic Portal simplifies complex tasks by anticipating user needs, and can for example facilitate image-based purchasing experiences, or recognize addresses in text messages to instantly suggest directions on Google Maps, without any human intervention. The Chinese firm is also providing support for nearly a hundred of the most used applications in the world.
Attractive, but frustrating announcements
Although these functions are promising, they are nevertheless not available at the moment and should only appear on the Magic 6 Pro at the end of March. In addition, the doubt that hovers around a release in France of the MagicBook 16 Pro, the brand’s new computer also boosted with AI, could frustrate users hoping to take full advantage of MagicRing and thus b… benefit from an interconnection between the brand’s devices.