China's Honor to enter smartphone market in Indonesia

Justin Li, president of Honor South Pacific, announced that the former Huawei unit plans to debut in Indonesia in early 2025, as reported by Nikkei Asia.

The company will launch over 10 products in the first quarter, including premium foldable smartphones, laptops, tablets, and wearables, and aims to expand to 30 devices by the end of the year. It also plans to open 10 "experience centers" across the country to meet customer demand for enhanced retail services.

The HONOR Magic V3 foldable phone. Photo courtesy of Honor

"Although the Indonesian market now is still 80% centralized in buying entry-level phones, it has significant growth potential," Li said. "The absolute number of the mid-to-premium segment can reach 5 million units a year, the biggest in the region."

Honor aims to challenge Samsung and Apple in this lucrative bracket. "We intend to challenge their dominance in this segment and provide a superior alternative," he added.

Indonesia’s smartphone market, the largest in Southeast Asia, is fiercely competitive. According to Canalys, Oppo led with a 20% market share in early 2024, followed by Xiaomi, Vivo, Samsung, and Transsion. Most competitors rely on local production arrangements to meet regulatory requirements.