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If you’ve ever wished that your smartphone had more of a personality, Honor’s Robot Phone might be just the ticket. Teased at Honor’s launch event in Barcelona this weekend as MWC begins in earnest, the Robot Phone is still largely shrouded in mystery – but its vibes are immaculate.
I’ve never been more charmed by something I’d place squarely in the “Why on earth would anyone want this?” column. The Robot Phone is an Honor smartphone with a fold-out camera mounted to a gimbal with four degrees of freedom. All things considered, it’s a remarkable feat of engineering – though initially I’d thought it would protrude from the top of the phone awkwardly, the gimbal and camera instead fold into the rear of the device when not in use, flipping out and up when you activate it.
The Robot Phone is powered by AI and although it looks a bit ridiculous, there’s some genuinely useful stuff on offer here. The tiny gimbal offers the best motion reduction and automated subject tracking tech in the industry, thanks to the fact that the three-axis gimbal can stabilise footage and track your movements through 360 degrees. I could very clearly see the content creators on hand to witness the reveal salivating at the thought.
To create the Robot Phone, Honor has teamed up with Arri, supplier of high-tech camera equipment to film sets across the world. The goal is to close the gap between cinema-grade videography and that offered by standard smartphones; Honor says this gap is already almost closed where photography is concerned, but it hopes that the Robot Phone can do the same job for film.
The best thing about the Robot Phone – for me, at least – isn’t its cinematographic prowess, though. No, this phone is more than just a surprisingly powerful action camera – it’s also a tiny companion. Thanks to a collection of anthropomorphising nods, tilts and wiggles, alongside a cute (read: grating) voice, the Robot Phone is brought to life. Ask it whether the outfit you’re wearing suits you, and the Robot Phone will nod encouragingly or shake its “head”; put on some music, and the Robot Phone will do its level best to dance along with you.
Here’s the exact moment my cold heart melted:
I’m not filled with an abundance of hope for a future with AI, but I have to say, the Robot Phone is pretty adorable.
Sadly, we know nothing about the smartphone it’s attached to – but we can safely assume it’s of a similar spec to Honor’s flagship Magic 8 Pro. We do know, however, that the camera mounted to that microscopic gimbal is a 200MP sensor, which bodes very well for image quality. We also know that the micromotor inside is 70% smaller than others of its kind, which is another remarkable feat of engineering made possible by the same super steel/titanium alloy that went into the Honor Magic V6‘s hinge.
The Robot Phone is due to launch in the second half of 2026. Stay tuned for more information as we get it.
