Morning Brief

1. Honor releases new models including the Magic8 Pro Air
2. Anker and Feishu jointly launch the Anker AI Voice Recorder Buds
3. Xiaohongshu rolls out Community Guidelines 2.0
4. ASUS stops releasing new smartphones
5. Rumors You Can Just Glance At

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Honor releases new models including the Magic8 Pro Air

On January 19, Honor held a product launch event, unveiling new devices including the Honor Magic8 Pro Air, Honor Magic8 RSR, and the Honor 500 Pro MOLLY 20th Anniversary Limited Edition.

The Honor Magic8 Pro Air is powered by the Dimensity 9500 processor and features a 6.31-inch Honor Oasis Eye-Care display. It measures 71.9 mm in width, just 6.1 mm in thickness, and weighs 155 g. The rear camera setup includes three cameras: a 50-MP 1/1.3-inch f/1.6 main camera with a 23 mm equivalent focal length and OIS support; a 50-MP f/2.2 ultra-wide camera; and a 64-MP periscope telephoto camera with 3.2× optical zoom, f/2.6 aperture, and OIS support. It also includes a color temperature sensor and a flicker sensor. The phone is equipped with a 5,500 mAh battery and supports IP68 and IP69 dust and water resistance. It supports eSIM and has dual physical SIM card slots. Color options include Light Orange, Fairy Purple, Feather White, and Shadow Black. Pricing ranges from RMB 4,999 (12 GB + 256 GB) to RMB 5,999 (16 GB + 1 TB), with an additional RMB 500 discount available through government subsidies.

The Honor Magic8 RSR is a co-branded model created in collaboration with Porsche Design. It features an ultra-microcrystalline nano-ceramic body and has largely the same overall configuration as the Magic8 Pro, powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset. The Magic8 RSR supports Honor’s Hongyan dual-satellite communication (Tiantong satellite calling and BeiDou satellite messaging) and offers an optional professional imaging kit. It is available in Moonstone and Slate Gray, priced at RMB 7,999 (16 GB + 512 GB) and RMB 8,999 (24 GB + 1 TB).

The Honor 500 Pro MOLLY 20th Anniversary Limited Edition is a collaboration with POP MART and comes with an exclusive gift box containing various themed accessories. It is priced at RMB 4,499 (16 GB + 512 GB). Source

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Anker and Feishu jointly launch the Anker AI Voice Recorder Buds

On January 19, Anker announced via its official WeChat account that it has partnered with Feishu to introduce a new form-factor hardware product—the Anker AI Recording Bean. The device weighs just 10 grams, roughly the size of a broad bean, and features a dual MEMS microphone array. With the charging case included, the total weight is about 48 grams. It supports both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi transmission modes, offers up to 8 hours of battery life on its own, and up to 32 hours when used with the charging case. The product focuses on unobtrusive wearability and instant recording, supporting AI-powered visual real-time summaries, multilingual transcription and translation, and the generation of illustrated “fishbone diagrams” that can turn messy discussions into clear conclusions and to-do lists. It also supports one-tap syncing of recording summaries to Feishu multi-dimensional spreadsheets, where quality checks and analysis can be completed automatically based on user-defined rules. The hardware is now available on JD.com, priced at RMB 899. Source

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Xiaohongshu rolls out Community Guidelines 2.0

On January 19, Xiaohongshu rolled out Community Guidelines 2.0, which merge the previous Community Guidelines and Community Business Guidelines into a single framework with three sections: sincere sharing, friendly interaction, and orderly operations. In the “sincere sharing” section, Xiaohongshu calls on users to proactively disclose the use of AI-assisted tools, avoid creating false personas, and refrain from flaunting consumption levels far beyond those of ordinary people. The “friendly interaction” section requires users not to maliciously speculate about the motives of content creators, to engage in rational dialogue, and to avoid posting inflammatory remarks or making unfounded accusations against others. The “orderly operations” section prohibits marketing practices such as posing as ordinary users or manipulating reviews, as well as the abuse of the reporting mechanism. Source

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Rumors You Can Just Glance At

• According to foreign media outlet Windows Central, Microsoft is introducing an “ad-supported model” to Xbox Cloud Gaming. This would allow users who have purchased digital Xbox games but are not subscribed to Xbox Game Pass to play cloud games for free by “watching ads.” In cloud computing, “idle computing power” is one of the most expensive forms of waste. By rolling out an ad-supported Xbox Cloud Gaming service, Microsoft could increase Azure server utilization during low-demand periods, while also providing stronger commercial justification for the continued expansion of its data centers, as cloud and AI become core parts of the company’s strategy. Source
• There are rumors that the Google Pixel 10a will be announced on February 18 and go on sale on March 5. The device is said to feature 8 GB of RAM, with overall specifications largely similar to the Pixel 9a, and a starting price of EUR 549. Source
• Matthew Forsyth, Director of Developer Experience Product Management and Chief Product Evangelist for the Google Play Store, said on X that Android’s app sideloading process will add extra steps to ensure users fully understand the risks of installing apps from unverified developers. However, advanced users will still be able to choose “skip verification and install directly,” and sideloading will not be restricted. This explanation is largely consistent with what has been observed in recent versions of the Google Play Store: while new warning messages pop up emphasizing developer verification requirements, the need for an internet connection, and potential risks, users are still allowed to proceed with installation. Source
• Apple’s U.S. website shows tightening supply of M4 Pro / Max MacBook Pro models, with delivery dates pushed back to after February 6. Custom configurations of the 14-inch MacBook Pro with a 16-core M4 Max chip and 128 GB of memory are now scheduled for delivery as late as March 17. Combined with earlier rumors—and considering that Apple often extends shipping times for current models ahead of new product launches—this may indicate that the M5 Pro / Max MacBook Pro lineup will quietly appear on Apple’s website on January 28. Source
• According to insiders, Xiaomi’s second-generation in-house SoC, Xuanjie O2, may adopt TSMC’s N3P process (third-generation 3 nm) rather than the company’s latest 2 nm node. Xiaomi is also planning to apply the Xuanjie O2 to “non-smartphone” products to further expand the use of its self-developed chips, including tablets, cars, and computers—starting with tablets, followed by PCs and vehicles. Source
• According to TechCrunch, Meta’s social platform Threads has surpassed X in mobile daily active users, reaching 141.5 million, compared to X’s 125 million. Source
• Bungie, a studio under Sony, has announced that its new shooter Marathon (also known as Lost Starship: Marathon) will launch on March 5 at a price of USD 39.99, and will be released simultaneously on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5. Source
• Zootopia 2 has surpassed Inside Out 2 at the box office, reaching USD 1.703 billion, becoming the highest-grossing Hollywood animated film of all time and ranking ninth in global box office history. Source