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Honor gets its due for innovations as fastest-growing brand ahead of Apple & Samsung

Omdia data shows the smartphone maker posted 11% YoY growth, outperforming competitors.

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Main display on the Honor Magic V5 in Ivory White (world's thinnest folding phone)
Nirave Gondhia / Digital Trendsve Gondhia / Digital Trends

Honor emerged as one of the stronger performers in 2025, posting record growth, according to a new research report. Data from Omdia’s latest analysis shows the brand’s shipments grew 11% year-over-year, outperforming competitors like Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo.

The report notes that global smartphone shipments grew by 2% overall, with Apple leading the market, posting 7% year-over-year growth and capturing 19% market share. Samsung followed closely with similar growth and market share figures, while Xiaomi placed third with a 13% market share despite a 2% decline in shipments.

Although Honor was not among the top 5 vendors, trailing slightly behind Vivo, Oppo, and Transsion in terms of market share, it stood out for its growth performance. Omdia attributes this momentum primarily to Honor’s rapid geographical expansion amid intense competition in its core markets.

Honor’s 2025 lineup reflected a sharper focus on innovation

Honor also launched several notable devices last year that likely supported its upward trajectory. Its flagship foldable, the Honor Magic V5, earned praise for its ultra-thin design, outstanding screens, and top-tier camera hardware. This one solved a few crucial pain points for foldable phones, especially with hinge durability, ingress protection, and even display brightness output. The company also revised its software support commitment to match Google’s, promising 7 years of updates for Honor Magic 7 Pro and newer models.

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Late last year, Honor unveiled the Honor Win, a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5-powered flagship with a massive 10,000mAh battery. The company appears to be continuing this momentum in 2026, with recent reports suggesting it’s now gearing up to showcase its next-gen flagship foldable, the Honor Magic V6, at MWC early next month. The Honor Robot Phone, which was first teased at CES earlier this year, will also be unveiled during the trade show.

Pranob Mehrotra
Pranob is a seasoned tech journalist with over eight years of experience covering consumer technology. His work has been…
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