Laurance Li is a reference within the mobile telephone sector. He started working for Huawei in Shenzhen in 2008 and has been in the industry since then: first linked to Huawei especially in Mexico and then, starting in 2021, already in Honor. He has experienced from the inside the rise of smartphones, the changes between 2G and 5G and much, much more. On the occasion of the MWC we were able to sit down and talk to him, and the truth is that he is quite clear about where he is going to go. the present and also the future of the smartphone.
You can innovate in mobile phones in 2026
Honor may currently be the brand that is experimenting the most with new mobile device formats. For years they have been fighting to lead the folding category, and this MWC they surprised everyone with the Honor Robot Phone.
Honor Robot Phone in an image taken during its presentation at MWC
Although the most striking thing about the phone is that camera that is “stored” in the back and unfolds, for the CEO of Honor Spain this new type of device is very relevant because They will change the way we communicate with the phone. On the Honor Robot Phone, the camera responds to you, looks at you, reacts to your requests. “There will be communication with you, excitement.”
Beyond phones with robotic arms, Honor has been betting on folding phones for some time. In 2023 I visited their factories in Shenzhen and from then on it was one of its main strategic priorities, and the arrival of the Honor Magic V6 comes to endorse it: thinner and with more battery than ever. A foldable that doesn’t look like a foldable from the outside. “I think folding phones are going to be the future,” he says convinced. For now, he believes that many people are not daring to take the leap because of the cost, but he believes that this will change.
Honor’s plan to convince people to make that leap? Paradoxically, it happens, in part, through the iPhone and its users: it is no coincidence that in their MWC presentation they spent some time explaining all the compatibility between the iPhone and the Honor ecosystem. “Some iPhone users want to switch, but they can’t because of the ecosystem.” These types of initiatives open the door to more users: “more and more users will choose foldable devices.” “I want to change their minds, but step by step. Apple users can use Android devices and other devices,” he adds.
The importance of operators and stores in the present and future of Honor
Finding a place in an already complex and competitive market like the Spanish one is not easy, and Honor knows it. It is no coincidence that when we asked how 2025 has gone, much of the conversation focused on highlighting how Honor is growing with some of its great allies.
According to figures that Laurance Li shared with us, with MasOrange they have “more than 8% of the smartphone market share.” The figure grows, according to the executive, up to 20% if we talk about tablets sold through the operator. Together with Vodafone, it claims to have “800 points of sale” in which Honor as a brand has direct contact with the consumer.
This year they have started working with MediaMarkt. Despite not yet being present in all MediaMarkt stores, 8% of smartphone sales went to Honor and, if we talk about tablets, the figure grew to 10%, according to their figures. They continue working with El Corte Inglés, and it is not strange to go to a store and see a counter decorated with their brand. “It has been a good 2025,” Li summarized when he shared the figures with us.
Its goal for the future is to strengthen its presence in these distributors and work more closely with them, but also to look for new partners with whom to continue growing.
In terms of market share, Honor ended 2025 growing 18% in Europe compared to the previous year, according to figures from Counterpoint Researchranking as the fourth brand with 4%. Ahead, Apple with 33%, Samsung with 29% and Xiaomi with 6%. In other rankings, however, it appears in fifth place: in Omdia They place Motorola ahead in fourth position.
The big question: prices in 2026
It is impossible to talk about mobile phones in 2026 and not talk about the big question: what is going to happen to the shortage of components? In reality… it is impossible to talk about any consumer device and not ask this same question. We have told it ad nauseam: it is not only the RAM crisisbut the crisis of components in general sponsored by the massive proliferation of data centers to serve AI.
“This is the biggest challenge in the last 20 years for the phone industry,” Li tells us convinced. On the one hand, he sees it as a way to confirm that Honor’s strategy with Alpha and its plan focused on artificial intelligence is on the right track.
On the other hand, it confirms what we have already seen: “increasing the cost of memory will greatly affect entry-level devices.” That is why its strategy involves focusing more on mid-range devices onwards. On these phones “it will impact, but not as much”, as the cost of memory is lower in proportion to the rest of the phone.
Where is the mobile phone industry going?
Sitting down with Laurance Li to talk is like sitting down with someone who has witnessed firsthand all the changes in the telephone industry. I can’t help but ask you what you think is going to happen next, what you think is going to happen to the current smartphone industry.
“We have had different revolutions,” he explains. “2G to 3G, 3G to 4G, 4G to 5G. From 2G to 3G was a big leap for video conferencing, for video calls. From 3G to 4G was gaming. But think about the step from 4G to 5G, what has been the big difference for users? It hasn’t been that big.”
What is clear to him is that AI is going to be another of the great revolutions: “AI is going to change the industry a lot,” he assures, and he calls it out, although he recognizes that it remains to be seen in what way. “The first thing should be the software, it should include AI. You wouldn’t need to type anything, you could talk to your phone.” Perhaps, he adds, now we can take advantage of everything that the move to 5G has brought.
James Li, CEO of Honor, at the MWC presentation breaking down the company’s “Alpha Plan”
Regarding the phone itself, and Honor being one of the companies that is betting the most on the development of folding phones, the CEO explains his point of view: with initiatives such as folding phones or his own “robot phone”, he believes that “the type of phone will changebut the cell phone itself is not going to be replaced”.
“In the movies there are people who use the glasses,” he says, referring to new types of devices such as smart glasses, “but for now you need a phone” to connect all this to. A phone that, perhaps, will talk to you and change the way we communicate with it, but that, in his opinion, “is not replaceable, I don’t know for how long but… not yet.”
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