Honor gets Circle to Search nod as Google turns back to China

10 Oct 2024

Honor, the smartphone and gadget maker that spun out of Huawei, has announced that its Magic V3 folding phone and 200 Pro premium midranger will be the first devices outside the Samsung and Google ecosystems to feature Circle to Search, Google's flagship AI-powered search tool. Honor is the next known Chinese brand to have the feature after it came to the Xiaomi 14T earlier this week which broke the Galaxy and Pixel device monopoly of the feature through its artificial exclusivity. Google committed to expand the feature to 200m phones by the close of 2024 at its I/O developer conference earlier this year.

Google is finally expanding its premium AI search feature to Chinese smartphone vendors.

“Enhancements in AI are transforming the way we work, learn, shop, create and interact with our devices,” said George Zhao, CEO of Honor.

“Whether you need translation assistance, homework help or simply want to find out more about an image that’s caught your eye on social media, our smartphones have become our go-to source for searching for this information.”

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Circle to Search uses AI-powered screen reading capabilities, allowing users to search for anything on their screen – text, images, or videos – with a simple circle, highlight, or tap.

This builds on the Google Lens suite of visual search features and eliminates the need to switch between apps, streamlining the search process and providing a more intuitive user experience.

Human-centric technology

The local Honor team was vague on any commitments to rolling out Google-powered technology when Bizcommunity asked about the future of the Google/Honor technology relationship earlier this year at the 200 series launch.

The global CEO, however, is quite bullish on the possibilities with the Circle to Search announcements:

As a human-centric technology brand, Honor is committed to bringing the benefits of AI to all. Thanks to our close industry collaboration with Google and by introducing this feature to not one, but two of our popular smartphone lines, it’s now possible to unlock a world of information at your fingertips, offering a whole new level of convenience in people’s daily lives.