Honor is aiming to outpace competitors like Apple in China with the launch of its own AI-powered assistant, Yoyo, the company announced on Friday. The assistant, renamed Honor AI Agent after an AI upgrade, is expected to be available in China soon, with plans for international markets in the future. This move positions Honor as a key player in the ongoing race among smartphone makers to enhance digital assistants with artificial intelligence.
In a demonstration ahead of the announcement, Honor showcased Yoyo’s ability to detect and manage subscriptions on popular Chinese payment platforms WeChat and Alipay. Users were prompted to cancel subscriptions, highlighting the assistant’s practical functionality. Such AI agents are seen as a way to create more personalized and efficient user experiences by learning behaviors and making recommendations.
Honor is not alone in this pursuit. Major competitors like Apple and Samsung are also integrating AI into their digital assistants. Samsung’s mobile division chief, TM Roh, revealed that the company will upgrade Bixby with their own large language model (LLM) technology later this year. Apple, meanwhile, is preparing to launch an enhanced version of Siri, branded as Apple Intelligence, though it is not expected to be available in China this year.
As the smartphone market continues to evolve, Honor’s Yoyo AI upgrade signifies a strategic effort to leap ahead of both international and domestic rivals in the AI-powered assistant space.
Featured Image courtesy of CNBC
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