Honor’s Quiet but Powerful Entry into 5.5G Arena
It’s widely known that following the official announcement of the 5.5G (5G-A) network by telecom operators, several domestic smartphone brands in China have also announced that their models can now support 5.5G networks through OTA (Over-The-Air) updates. Interestingly, Honor, a prominent smartphone brand, has kept a low profile in this regard. However, eager netizens couldn’t wait and directly approached Honor’s China CMO, Jiang Hairong-Harrison, for clarification. Recently, according to Jiang Hairong, the entire Honor Magic6 series now fully supports 5.5G networks.
Recently, a netizen messaged Jiang Hairong, asking, “Other brands are saying they will support 5.5G, any plans for Magic6?” To this, Jiang Hairong-Harrison responded, “Magic6 already supports it. The current Magic6 series already fully supports 5.5G.” Following up, another netizen asked, “Then why doesn’t mine display it?” Jiang Hairong-Harrison added, “At that time, the carriers hadn’t set the standards yet, so there weren’t any indicators. Everyone can look out for subsequent OTA updates.” Thus, it appears that the Honor Magic6 series has supported 5.5G since its release, and it can further be enabled through OTA updates.
Considering the timing of its release, the Honor Magic6 series, launched in January this year, is likely the industry’s first commercially available smartphone to implement 5.5G technology. This further underscores Honor’s leading position in mobile communication technology. According to public information, 5G-Advanced (5G-A), also known as 5.5G, is considered a transitional phase between 5G and 6G in mobile communication technology.
While essentially still 5G, 5.5G offers approximately a tenfold improvement in connection speed, latency, positioning, reliability, and other aspects. It boasts peak rates of tens of gigabits per second (10Gbps) for downlink and gigabits per second (1Gbps) for uplink, millisecond-level latency, low cost, support for billions of IoT devices, and integration of satellite internet. This will provide users with a superior network experience, especially in scenarios such as cloud gaming, 8K HD video streaming, and VR/AR.
Apart from 5.5G mobile communication, the Honor Magic6 series boasts several other communication highlights. For instance, the Honor Swallow satellite communication technology enables direct satellite services on smartphones, facilitating real-time calls and two-way messaging. It is reported that over the past two years, Honor has collaborated closely with carriers to address technical challenges such as high power consumption, tight link budgets, and heat dissipation in satellite services. Moreover, they achieved technological breakthroughs in chip miniaturization and integrated satellite antennas. Honor plans to share this unprecedented Swallow satellite communication technology with the entire industry.
Furthermore, the Honor Magic6 series is equipped with the self-developed RF enhancement chip C1+. This new and upgraded RF chip maximizes antenna transmission gain by 41% and reception gain by 51%, effectively addressing issues such as weak 5G signal perception and difficulty in locating 5G signal base stations in most 5G smartphones. It comprehensively optimizes various scenarios with weak signals, such as quickly scanning QR codes in underground parking lots, smooth video playback on subways, rapid signal recovery after exiting elevators, and prolonged calls in weak network areas, providing an industry-leading mobile communication experience.