Now I’ve seen it in action, Honor’s Robot Phone feels a lot closer to reality
Future-thinking phone with an integrated gimbal is on track for 2026
For something that was only a design sketch six months ago, the upcoming Honor Robot Phone has come a long way in a very short space of time. The quirky smartphone was originally teased at CES back in January, but appeared to be almost fully functional at this week’s Mobile World Congress show. A full launch is set for the second half of 2026.
I like to think the Robot Phone is the result of Honor’s mad scientists accidentally leaving a DJI Osmo Pocket and Magic 8 Pro in the test chambers while attempting some teleportation experiments. Only instead of a Cronenburgian monstrosity, we’ve gotten a flagship phone with a motorised gimbal in place of a traditional rear camera array.
In reality, the firm’s R&D team has been hard at work developing some of the industry’s smallest micromotors. The miniaturised hardware uses production know-how gained from making multiple generations of foldable phone hinge, and means the camera can unfold from its housing automatically. Once open, the three-axis gimbal gives it four degrees of freedom and the best video stabilisation of any smartphone.
The camera app will then let you lock onto subjects using AI-based object recognition, and pull off snazzy 90-degree and 180-degree spinshots with a tap. That could be a huge deal for on-the-go creators looking to minimise their camera bag. Once you’re finished recording, the camera folds back down and a protective door mechanically slides back over it.
I thought it looked incredibly slick in action, recognising people and turning around the room during a brief (hands-off) demo. While the camera island understandably sticks out further than that of a typical smartphone, it wasn’t nearly as chunky as I was expecting, and the rest of the phone looks pretty normal.
Replacing your action camera is only half the story. Honor’s bigger play is to make the Robot Phone an AI assistant, letting the camera module become its eyes to the world. That’ll allow for multi-modal interaction, which basically means being able to ask the handset anything based on what you – and it – can see.
I was shown the assistant describing what it could see in the demo area, with cute little eye graphics appearing onscreen above a live view of the camera. Honor also envisions it being able to give fashion advice – though I’m not sure I’ll be ready for an AI to tell me if I can pull off double denim by the time the Robot phone goes on sale.
Honor isn’t talking hardware specifics just yet, although we did learn that the gimbal camera has a 200MP sensor. It’s unclear if this is the same one used by the Honor Magic 8 Pro’s telephoto. I imagine Honor has stuffed the thing full of its ultra-slim silicon-carbon blade batteries too, so that the gimbal doesn’t drain the thing flat in double quick time.
Expect to hear a lot more about the Robot Phone – including whether that will be its official name – in the second half of 2026. I have a feeling we’ll be waiting a lot longer until the humanoid robot, also revealed at this year’s Mobile World Congress, becomes a tangible product.
Tom Morgan-Freelander
Deputy Editor 
