Honor is a top five smartphone maker in its native China. Now the company is returning to India with the Honor 90, its first new device for the world’s second largest smartphone market in more than three years.
The new handset is already available in global markets, including Malaysia, Europe, the Middle East and U.K. When it was still part of Huawei, Honor operated natively in India. In November 2020, its parent company sold the brand to Shenzhen Zhixin New Information Technology, a firm controlled by the government. Subsequently, Honor’s new leadership quietly pulled all its local operations from India and relocated some of its staff to Dubai. The last Honor devices launched in India in late-July 2020. Soon, Honor’s India wing went quiet on social media.
But the Chinese company did not exit the Indian market altogether. Instead, it partnered with PSAV Global to distribute and provide after-sales of its devices in the country. The firm, which has its offices in Hong Kong and India, started selling Honor-branded wearables, tablets and laptops in the South Asian nation. But for Honor smartphones, PSAV Global has chosen HTech (formerly HonorTech) which counts former Realme India chief Madhav Sheth as one of its directors. It was incorporated in early-August, rebranding as HTech weeks before the formal launch — presumably not wanting to remain Honor exclusive forever.
HTech works as a local face for selling Honor smartphones in India under a licensing deal with the Chinese company. It is set to eventually transfer the technology from Honor Global to India and has proposed an investment of over $120 million (1,000 crores Indian rupees). The firm aims to reach $1.2 billion in revenue, secure 5% market share by December 2024, and begin local manufacturing early next year, Sheth said in interviews with local media last month.
