Honor is working with content providers such as Hotstar and Netflix to provide India-focussed experience to its customers.
Honor MagicBook range counters Apple’s MacBook models with a similar look and feel
Honor, the sub brand of Huawei and once a popular player in the smartphone market, is set to go beyond smartphones and launch its laptops in India soon. The Chinese brand has its MagicBook family of Windows 10-based laptops that debuted in China back in April 2018. Alongside the laptops, Honor is set to bring its smart TV to the Indian market, a senior executive told Gadgets 360. The smart TV, called the Honor Vision, was unveiled at Indian Mobile Congress (IMC) in New Delhi in October last year.
“We are bringing our laptops to India maybe at the end of the Q1 or by beginning of Q2,” said Charles Peng, President of Honor India, in a conversation with Gadgets 360 at the sidelines of the Honor 9X launch in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Peng highlighted that the laptops will initially be available through online channels. However, he didn't specify which models will debut in the country.
“We are working with the HQ team to meet the demands of the Indian market,” the executive told Gadgets 360. “Maybe some of them would be the ones that are already launched in China and maybe some would be designed for the Indian market.”
According to an earlier report by news agency PTI, Honor was planning to launch two laptops in India this year. The brand in 2018 launched its first MagicBook laptop that looks quite similar to Apple's MacBook with an aluminium build and a chiclet-style backlit keyboard. In July last year, the Honor MagicBook Pro debuted as an upgrade of the original MagicBook model with up to 14 hours of battery life.
The India prices of Honor laptops are yet to be revealed. However, the Honor MagicBook was launched in China at a starting price of CNY 3,999 (roughly Rs. 41,200), while the MagicBook Pro arrived with an initially price of CNY 5,499 (roughly Rs. 56,400). This means that we would be able to see the MagicBook in India somewhere at around Rs. 60,000.
Peng confirmed to Gadgets 360 that the Honor laptops would run the latest Windows 10 versions and will offer an experience one can expect on a high-end machine.
In addition to laptops, Honor has plans to foray into the Indian smart TV market by bringing the Honor Vision that runs the proprietary HarmonyOS. Peng said that the Honor Vision would launch in India either in late first quarter or early second quarter.
“I think Indian people deserve more, deserve better -- so not only the TV that can connect to the Wi-Fi,” Peng said while emphasising the distinct experience on the Honor Vision. “Our product is equipped with our Honghu chipset that differentiates the experience.”
The Honor Vision will be Honor's important offering for the Indian market as it will bring HarmonyOS that is designed to counter Google's Android.
“After the product launch in India, people will know more about our HarmonyOS and will be able to experience our OS,” asserted Peng.
Honor is also working with partners such as Hotstar and Netflix to bring relevant content on the Honor Vision right at the time of its official launch in India, the executive said.
To recall, the Honor Vision was launched in China at CNY 3,799 (roughly Rs. 39,000). Honor also brought the Honor Vision Pro with a pop-up camera, two additional speakers, and twice the onboard storage at 32GB over what's available on the Honor Vision with a price tag of CNY 4,799 (roughly Rs. 49,200).
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