Skip to main content

Huawei’s betting big on AI, will show off its achievements on September 2

IFA 2024
This story is part of our coverage of IFA Berlin 2024

Huawei has big plans for artificial intelligence, something it has made very clear several times over the past year, and on September 2 it’s going to reveal the first product built around its AI technology. In a series of teasers posted to its social media channels, it notes the date and tells us to “expect the unexpected.”

Does this mean Huawei’s own voice assistant is here, ready to challenge Siri, Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and Samsung’s Bixby? Possibly, but Huawei has also hinted any assistant duties will be just a small part of what its AI is capable of. In a tweet from the end of July, Huawei asked what AI meant to us, and in an image said it should be, “more than just a voice assistant.”

Recommended Videos

The September 2 date coincides with Huawei’s keynote presentation at the IFA technology trade show in Berlin, which has the title, “On device intelligence: Mobile AI is on the way.” While discussion of how AI will change the way we use smartphones will be a major part of the talk, Huawei CEO Richard Yu will also focus on, “Why Huawei’s latest innovation will make its smart devices truly intelligent companions.”

Huawei isn’t expected to launch any hardware at IFA, as it has scheduled a separate launch event for October, where the Mate 10 is likely to make its debut. The IFA show and keynote may be the launchpad for a virtual assistant destined for use on the Mate 10, enabled by the still unofficial Kirin 970 processor, which is rumored to be specially engineered for making AI faster than ever.

Richard Yu has already spoken about an, “Intelligent revolution,” among smart products, which he predicts will happen over the coming five to 10 years. Huawei COO Wan Biao envisions a future where man and machine become, “integrated together for proactive thinking.” It’s clear Huawei has grand plans for artificial intelligence.

Huawei’s plans may be big, but it lags behind the competition in AI assistants on its smartphones. It has incorporated Amazon’s Alexa on the Mate 9, but the experience is less cohesive than on the HTC U11, while Apple’s Siri has been available for several years already. Samsung has proven how difficult it is to get AI right with the slow launch of its Bixby assistant. We’ll know what Huawei plans next month, and presumably see it in action the month after that.

Andy Boxall
Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…
The Realme GT 6 shows how AI on smartphones should be done
Realme GT 6 Android phone in silver color held in hand in front of a wooden door.

Realme has always offered value smartphones. As another brand to spin off from Oppo, it shares the same bloodline as OnePlus but mostly operates in lower segments, offering similar features at a lower price. After a slight shift in identity, Realme is back to making incredible flagship killers -- a category that OnePlus birthed and dominated for a long time. Its latest phone, the Realme GT 6, has a lavish set of features that enable it to compete head-on with flagships.

Besides a rich assembly of hardware features, this roughly $650 phone bundles AI features that help it nudge its way into the flagship segment. These AI features are integrated along with core Android features to improve your experience without coloring it with gimmicks.

Read more
AI gadgets are dead
Gemini, ChatGPT, Humane Pin, and Rabbit R1.

Ahead of Google I/O 2024, there was little doubt that Google would talk about AI. The event started on a fittingly rowdy note. YouTube sensation Marc Rebillet started the show adorned in a bathrobe after popping up from a giant cup.

The social media star set the tone for the rest of the event by asking audience members for wild musical ideas that came to life via Google’s AI DJ software. The host couldn’t have asked for a better start. In the words of CEO Sundar Pichai, Google executives uttered the word “AI” 121 times.

Read more
Watch Google’s 10-minute recap of its AI-filled I/O keynote
The stage for Google I/O 2024.

Google unveiled a slew of generative-AI goodies at its annual I/O event on Tuesday during a packed keynote that lasted almost two hours.

If you couldn’t watch it at the time, or really don’t want to sit through all 110 minutes of it on Google’s YouTube channel, the web giant has kindly shared a video that compresses the best bits of the event into a mere 10 minutes. You can watch it below:

Read more