Honor CEO Li Jian couldn't hide his excitement, tweeting on October 8: 'The Magic9 series dominated the Android flagship market for seven days during the National Day holiday.'

Honor's Global CMO Guan Haitao added details: 'For seven days during the holiday, we were first every day. A clear lead, roughly double. Many versions are continuously out of stock.'

At the Honor Magic9 series launch on September 28, Li Jian's declaration—'For Android flagships, look to Honor'—seems to be becoming a reality.

Throughout the first half of 2026, Honor faced significant pressure. According to IDC data, Honor ranked sixth in China's market share in Q2, a 9.5% decline year-on-year from 2025. It also ranked sixth in Q1, with a market share of less than 12% in China's smartphone market for the entire first half. Despite being the only Chinese manufacturer with positive global shipment growth in the first half, the contribution came mainly from overseas markets.

After a flurry of flagship smartphone launches in September, Honor became the true market leader in October, capturing 14% market share—third overall, behind only Apple and Huawei.

At the 10th anniversary of the Magic series, Honor has finally delivered a satisfying answer to both itself and the market, especially after the less-than-stellar performance of the Magic8, which left the entire company eager for redemption.

Honor has revolutionized its products and disrupted the industry with its pricing strategy. This was a do-or-die battle, and Honor has achieved a resounding victory.

ARRI Transforms Honor's Imaging Capabilities

The collaboration with ARRI has rescued Honor's imaging prowess.

In early 2026, during communications with Value Planet, Honor frequently emphasized 'imaging capabilities'—a rare focus, as this has long been a weakness for the brand, even becoming an indelible stereotype.

In stark contrast to the Magic9, last year's Magic8 sold just over 1.5 million units in its nearly one-year lifecycle (up to 2026W30). By comparison, Xiaomi's 17 series sold 5.83 million units, VIVO's X300 sold 3.44 million, and OPPO's Find X9 sold around 2.75 million. The gap was clear.

Imaging challenges were a major hurdle for Honor. While the brand excelled in eye-care screens, communication, and system fluidity, with strong mechanical quality , the Magic8 saw significant improvements in imaging, according to professional media and reviewers. The Magic8 Pro's periscope image quality rivaled the X300 Pro, and its main camera was no slouch either.

The issue lay in perception. Without radical changes, the 'weak imaging' label was hard to shake. In contrast, VIVO sometimes fell short in battery capacity but maintained a strong imaging reputation, winning user favor.

As domestic flagships strive for the high-end market, stacking specs is no longer effective. Being well-rounded risks being forgettable. Having a standout strength that addresses specific user needs is the path forward for Chinese smartphones.

This year, Honor has prominently promoted its collaboration with ARRI at every opportunity, from the official announcement to high-profile Robot Phone promotions, culminating in the Magic9's flagship application. With ARRI's support, Honor has closed its imaging gap. More importantly, ARRI's backing has shattered the stereotype of Honor's weak imaging—a direct driver of sales.

When Xiaomi collaborated with Leica, Lei Jun said, 'Essentially, we've found a world-class teacher in the imaging field.' Imaging was also a weakness for Xiaomi. Beyond capability improvements, collaborations with imaging firms are crucial for domestic brands to tell their high-end stories.

Previously, Honor was cautious about partnering with global optics giants, despite interest from photography firms. They preferred to enhance user value independently.

This is Honor's first collaboration, and ARRI's first partnership with a smartphone maker. The combination of these two 'firsts' is highly valuable.

For Honor, this is a high-profile self-proof. ARRI chose Honor for its full openness to technical accumulation and its determination to deep cultivation (deep dive) into the video sector. Industry consensus holds that ARRI is extremely selective in choosing partners. Smartphone makers must truly master cinematic-grade imaging fundamentals, possess high technical accumulation, engineering capabilities, and supply chain influence. The partnership was a perfect match.

Honor's collaboration with ARRI isn't simply about aligning smartphone imaging with industry standards or resolving image quality issues. It aims to integrate cinematic-grade camera capabilities into consumer smartphones, elevating video quality—a bold ambition that precisely meets current user demands.

While photography needs are well-satisfied, videography remains a 'relative blind spot' for most smartphone makers. The technical challenges of videography far exceed those of photography.

Hardware-wise, Honor squeezed a Yuguang H1 imaging chip into an already crowded phone, added a dual 200MP + periscope telephoto setup, and included cinematic-grade microphones for sound capture. At the data pipeline level, professional cinematic technologies like ARRI LogC3 curves, AWG3 wide color gamut, and full ARRI Look suites were fully integrated into the phone's imaging pipeline.

To date, Honor's video capabilities are gaining recognition from professionals and users alike, as evidenced by real-world adoption. Guan Haitao revealed that in the past seven days, the Camera and Gallery apps on the Honor Magic9 series surpassed WeChat in average daily usage time for the first time. Photography kits like rabbit cages and extenders are in high demand. Additionally, the Magic9 series has been integrated into the creative workflows of many photography, film, celebrity fan, and automotive influencers.

This explains why, to date, the Magic 9 Pro Max accounts for over half of all series sales, while the standard version makes up only about one-third. In some offline stores, 60-70% of pre-orders are for the Pro Max. Initially, frontline staff estimated that top-tier models would account for just 30% of sales. Now, some stores report two-to-three-week waits for scarce Pro Max color variants without pre-ordering.

In contrast, the OPPO Find X10's standard and Pro Max versions have similar sales volumes, but high-end versions are down 80% from the previous generation. The VIVO X500's top-tier model has also seen a severe decline, falling 86% year-on-year.

The inverted sales trend between standard and top-tier models proves that Honor's imaging reputation has been reversed. This deep collaboration provides a solid foundation for Honor's high-end narrative.

The Cheapest Android Flagship: Trading Profit for Scale

For first-week activation volumes of this year's Android flagships, Xiaomi's 18 series sold just over 200,000 units, OPPO's Find X10 nearly 110,000, and VIVO's X500 less than 100,000. Industry estimates put Honor's Magic9 series at around 300,000 first-week activations.

Moreover, Honor is the only Android flagship brand to achieve year-on-year growth this year. Xiaomi's sales plummeted by over half, while OPPO and VIVO saw declines around 70%. Even Huawei and Apple experienced moderate drops, making Honor the only brand among the top players to achieve positive growth.

A low base from the previous year is one factor. However, amid flagship price hikes and waning consumer upgrade appetite, Honor's aggressive pricing has sustained user expectations.

'Smartphone prices are rising this year. Under immense cost pressure, the industry faces its toughest moment. But I ask: If manufacturers struggle, don't users as well? We can't shift all cost pressures onto consumers,' Li Jian declared at the launch event, earning loud applause.

Subsequently, the Honor Magic9 Pro Max starts at 6,499 yuan, the Magic9 at 4,999 yuan, and the Magic9 Ultra at 4,499 yuan. After national subsidies, each model drops by another 500 yuan.

Compared to Xiaomi, OPPO, and VIVO, Honor's standard version is roughly 500 yuan cheaper on average, the Pro version 2,000 yuan cheaper, and the top-tier model over 3,000 yuan cheaper. In contrast, OPPO's Find X10 increased by 1,100-1,500 yuan from its predecessor, and VIVO's X500 standard version rose by 1,100 yuan.

Admittedly, amid a semiconductor supercycle, soaring DRAM, NAND, and SoC costs have forced smartphone price increases, making manufacturers' choices reasonable. However, consumers, with limited understanding of core components like processors, only notice price changes. Especially when all competitors raise prices, Honor's pricing stands out.

At the launch event, we repeatedly heard exclaim (amazement) at Honor's bold pricing.

Honor is trading profit for growth, especially at the high end. This isn't a desperate price war but a strategic choice amid internal and external pressures.

Internally, 2025 was a tough year for Honor, with the Magic8's failure fresh in memory. The Magic8 Pro's premium pricing strategy was widely blamed for its poor sales. Its starting price jumped from 5,699 yuan (Magic7 Pro) to 6,299 yuan—a 10% increase—despite stagnant core specs.

The high-end failure left Honor more reliant on mid-to-low-end markets. In Q3 2025, products priced under 2,000 yuan accounted for 58% of Honor's portfolio, boosting volume but eroding brand premium. In H1 2026, all Honor products ranking in unit sales were mid-to-low-end models like the X70, entry-level Honor 500, and Honor Power2.

Thus, the Magic9 was a make-or-break product. It carried the weight of sales, profit, and brand image—the village's hope. After all, the Robot Phone isn't a volume driver; its significance is more symbolic than commercial.

Externally, greater cost pressures make high-end positioning essential. High-margin brands can better absorb costs, maintain prices, and leverage stronger supply chain integration to navigate macroeconomic shifts. While the market climate changes, premium brands retain risk resilience.

This year, Huawei and Apple avoided major price hikes, even viewing cost increases as opportunities to expand market share.

For Honor, sacrificing profit margins now is a strategic detour to save the brand.

Reversing decline, reshaping perception, and capturing scale—the Magic9 achieves all three.