Honor was founded in 2013 as a Huawei sub-brand.[3] Honor's line of smartphones allowed Huawei to compete with mid-range online smartphone brands in China and globally.[4][5][6] Honor primarily sells products online, but some Honor products are also available at stores in selected markets.[7][8] In November 2020, the Honor brand was sold to Shenzhen Zhixin New Information Technology, a majority state-owned company controlled by the Shenzhen municipal government, to "ensure" its then-parent company, Huawei's survival, due to US sanctions against them.[9][2] U.S. sanctions restricted the sale of hardware components to Huawei by American firms.