HONOR Magic 6: The First Phone with Generative AI and Eye Tracking?
Mondo Admin / 28-11-2023 / Tech
Blink twice if you’re ready to change the way you use your smartphone. How about giving your fingers a well-deserved break by putting your eyes to work? The Snapdragon Summit 2023, held at the end of October, took an unexpected turn when HONOR teased this ground-breaking feature on the upcoming Honor Magic 6 that left the crowd wide-eyed and curious for more.
Eye-opening apps
HONOR's CEO, George Zhao, took centre stage to reveal Magic Capsule—an innovative, built-in eye-tracking feature that enables users to open, navigate and use apps effortlessly with just the movement of their eyes. Currently, HONOR hasn't disclosed the details of how this technology works, but they certainly piqued the interest of the tech world with a video teaser.
In the video, a woman opens the Uber app on her Magic 6 by changing the direction of her gaze. It seems that the front camera and sensor work in tandem to detect these movements and a cursor comes into play to help with navigation.
No hands? No problem
HONOR describes the feature as “eye-tracking-based multimodal interaction.” The multimodal aspect suggests that eye movement might be combined with other gestures to initiate actions. While it's all speculative at this point, Magic Capsule can bring real-world benefits, like assisting when your hands are full to potentially revolutionising device access for people with disabilities.
The AI race heats up
Eye-tracking technology is just one part of the puzzle because the HONOR Magic 6 is also in a tight tech race to become the first phone to feature a new generation of AI. A built-in generative AI that runs on-board large language models similar to ChatGPT, made possible by the latest chipset for flagship Android phones, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.
Getting hyper-personal
AI technology on the new HONOR will be able to understand you better by learning from data exclusively on your device, as opposed to publicly accessible datasets. The result? A hyper-personalised user experience based on your preferences.
The centrepiece of this technology is the built-in AI chatbot, nicknamed Yoyo. It transforms the new flagship Honor into a super-smart assistant with seamless access to everything on the device, from photos and contacts to videos and more. So, what does this AI look like in action?
Yoyo can craft short videos from the footage stored on your phone with just a simple chat prompt. You can then add your personal touch to the generated videos by instructing it to edit the templates, themes and music. It's simplified content creation at your fingertips.
Will the HONOR Magic 6 lead the pack?
The burning question remains: Will the HONOR Magic 6 be the first-ever phone to feature eye-tracking and on-device generative AI? Despite the tech company keeping mum on the release date, all signs point to it claiming the crown in eye-tracking technology. Yet, in the AI race, formidable contenders like Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and Huawei are vying for the top spot too. They have a collective hunger to outpace industry giants like Apple and Samsung, aiming for a strategic advantage in the fiercely competitive smartphone market.
Generative AI in the new generation of smartphones is a tight race. Any bets on the HONOR Magic 6 taking first place?