Since Honor made a comeback to India back in September of 2023, the brand has launched two devices, the Honor 90 and the Honor X9b, both of which run on Android 13-based Magic OS 7.1 and Magic OS 7.2, respectively. The brand’s CEO has confirmed that Honor 90 and Honor X9b will soon receive their next major OS upgrade, the Android 14-based Magic OS 8.0, in India.
Honor India CEO Madhav Sheth said to The Mobile Indian in an interview that Honor 90 and Honor X9b will get the Android 14-based Magic OS 8.0 update in India sometime during Q2 of 2024. In addition, Sheth also confirmed that a video calling feature in Honor 90 is available within the OS but hasn’t been enabled.
”We want to ensure that the users receive updates that are stable and secure at the same time. As of now, we have to make sure that the updates being pushed out comply with the regulations for enhanced privacy of the users”. In comparison, Honor 90 is slated to receive the said update in March in China.
Read More: Honor 90 Review: The comeback phone
If compared with the competition, most of the brands have already pushed out their Android 14-based updates to their respective devices within the same price range as Honor 90, for instance, the iQOO Neo 7 Pro and the Nothing Phone (2). However, we agree with the brand that the update shouldn’t be pushed out in a rush and should keep in mind the user’s privacy and security.
As for the features in Magic OS 8.0, it comes with MagicLM, HONOR’s Proprietary on-device AI large language model, which operates at a platform level. Optimised in a collaborative effort between HONOR and Qualcomm, the seven-billion-parameter MagicLM runs smoothly and efficiently on the Snapdragon 8 Gen3, contributing to a more personalised, intuitive and secure experience.
With MagicOS 8.0, HONOR also introduced Magic Portal, an intent-based shortcut recommendation feature that lets users seamlessly switch and access services between apps and devices with a simple swipe. In safeguarding privacy and security, MagicOS 8.0 introduces system-wide Parallel Spaces and adds bar smartphones to the list of supported devices. Images and files can also be loaded into the private space through Magic Portal.
