AI company Vidu has announced two significant developments that merge mobile technology with generative video capabilities. The company is partnering with Honor to integrate its AI video technology into the new Honor 400 Series smartphones while simultaneously securing rights to the classic 1999 Journey to the West anime for AI-powered content creation.
The Honor 400 Series, launched in May 2025, now features Vidu’s on-device image-to-video AI technology. This implementation represents one of the first instances where professional-grade video generation runs natively on smartphone hardware without requiring cloud processing. The system can transform static images into stylized video clips while maintaining consistent lighting, perspective, and motion physics.
Key technical achievements include a mobile-optimized AI architecture that reduces computational demands while preserving output quality. The real-time processing capabilities allow for immediate video generation directly on the device, overcoming previous limitations of mobile hardware.
Anime IP Adaptation
Vidu’s licensing agreement for the 1999 Journey to the West anime enables new forms of interactive content creation. Users can generate personalized videos featuring the classic Monkey King character by applying the anime’s distinct visual style to their own photos. The system produces 16-second narrative clips complete with AI-generated voiceovers and background music, using predefined templates that maintain the original anime’s artistic characteristics.
These announcements follow Vidu’s Q1 model release which introduced several technical innovations. The First-to-Last Frame technology ensures visual consistency throughout generated videos, while the 48kHz AI sound effects system produces synchronized audio output. The company has expanded its ecosystem through additional partnerships, including a hardware integration deal with Lenovo and a content production agreement with Aura Prods for original animated series.
At a recent Tokyo showcase, independent creators demonstrated Vidu’s capabilities through projects like an animated short that garnered over 3 million views. These examples highlight how the technology can assist in maintaining traditional artistic styles while streamlining production workflows.
Vidu’s dual approach, which integrates generative video into consumer devices and builds licensed content pipelines, underscores a forward-thinking strategy in AI-driven creation. The Honor 400 Series highlights the growing potential of on-device AI for content production, while the Journey to the West collaboration demonstrates the evolving role of established IP through generative technologies.
Comments