Taking inspiration from Xiaomi, Huawei’s sub-brand Honor has unveiled its first concept phone in China: the Honor Magic. The handset features a unique design that is curved from all its edges. Interestingly, the phone only comes with a home button at the front which also acts as the back and overview buttons using gestures.

The front of the Magic features a 5.09-inch AMOLED display with Quad HD resolution that is curved on both its edges. Inside the Honor is Huawei’s octa-core Kirin 950 chipset running at 2.3GHz, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage, and a 2900mAh battery. This is coupled with Huawei’s Magic Power Charger that can charge the phone to up to 70% in 20 minutes or up to 40% in just 10 minutes.

The 7.8mm thick phone features dual 12MP shooters at its rear with an f/2.2 aperture and 1.4um pixels. The camera setup is similar to what you will find on the Huawei P9 and the Honor 8, which means that one of the 12MP sensors is only able to capture photos in monochrome.

What sets the Magic apart is the array of sensor and AI features it offers to deliver a unique user experience. The WiseScreen sensor, which uses a combination of a sensor on the frame and an infrared sensor on the front, to automatically recognise the user when he or she picks the phone up and in turn switch the screen on. Similarly, when the phone is put down, its screen is supposed to turn off automatically.

Another unique feature on the Honor Magic is FaceCode Intelligent Recognition. Using facial recognition, the Magic only shows content on the lock screen when it has identified the face of the user. This way, the phone is able to protect user’s privacy without any additional friction. Huawei will also be offering some AI-driven features on the Honor Magic using Honor Magic Live. Some of the examples cited by the company are as follows:

• Imagine when you are chatting about movies with your friends on Wechat, Honor Magic will then be able to recommend the latest blockbusters for you.
• Imagine when you are on the road, Honor Magic automatically recognizes that you are driving and will prompt a reminder for you to switch the device to driving mode.
• DeepThink – Press and hold the home button and Honor Magic will offer multi-facet information based on the current webpage you visit.
• Once you use Honor Magic to order a cab, the driver’s license plate information will be shown on the display under locked screen mode.
• Once you arrive at the theatre, Honor Magic will automatically display the ticket booking number.
• When you approach the parcel collection counter, Honor Magic will automatically display the tracking number.

The Honor Magic will be available only in China. It goes on sale from December 16 for RMB 3,699.