Honor’s robot phone heralds a new smartphone era

Barcelona set the stage for what could be a defining moment in mobile innovation as Honor unveiled its Robot Phone at the Mobile World Congress 2026, positioning the device as a radical departure from conventional smartphones. Described by the company as a “new species of smartphone,” the Robot Phone blends advanced imaging, motion intelligence and interactive AI to create a device that not only responds to users but also moves and reacts in human-like ways. This demonstration underscores Honor’s broader strategy of expanding its artificial intelligence ecosystem and redefining how people interact with technology on a physical and emotional level.

Honor’s Chief Executive Officer Li Jian took the stage in Barcelona to articulate the vision behind the Robot Phone, anchoring it in the company’s Augmented Human Intelligence philosophy, which seeks to combine cognitive intelligence with emotional expressiveness and contextual awareness. The Robot Phone integrates what Honor calls embodied AI interaction, meaning the device can adjust orientation, engage in all-angle video calling, and even use expressive gestures during communication – features that aim to make interactions feel more natural, engaging and intuitive than traditional touchscreen or voice-only interfaces.

At the core of the Robot Phone’s innovation is a three-axis gimbal camera system that, unlike fixed smartphone cameras, can rotate and stabilise itself dynamically. This mechanism integrates a highly compact four-degrees-of-freedom motor, reduced in size to fit within the device’s slim form, while enabling fluid motion and cinematic capture capabilities. According to Honor, the system supports AI-powered object tracking, allowing the phone to follow subjects in real time, and features modes designed to produce smooth professional-style video transitions even during handheld shooting. By embedding this robotic movement into the camera system, Honor is positioning the device to blur the line between smartphone and dedicated motion-aware imaging hardware.

The Robot Phone’s embodied AI extends beyond imaging. Its motion control and multimodal perception enable the device to interpret sounds, track user movement and maintain visual awareness to improve usability. The phone can respond with physical gestures such as nods or head shakes during video calls, and even dance to the beat of music, according to demonstrations shared at the event. Honor’s approach represents an attempt to infuse personality into mobile devices, moving toward a more expressive and emotionally responsive piece of technology.

Building this level of mechanical complexity into a consumer smartphone demanded engineering trade-offs and innovations in materials and micro-motor design. Honor applied its expertise from foldable devices to address challenges of space, strength and weight, enabling the integration of a robot-grade motion system within a conventional smartphone footprint. The result is a product that aims to marry high-end imaging performance with intelligent behaviour while keeping the device’s form factor appealing to mainstream consumers.

Honor’s Robot Phone is built around a 200-megapixel sensor paired with its gimbal stabilization technology. This combination is designed to elevate smartphone video and photography closer to cinematic storytelling quality, and Honor has announced a strategic technical collaboration with ARRI, the renowned cinema camera maker, to refine its colour science and imagery performance. With these partnerships, the company is signalling its intention to deepen its imaging credentials in an increasingly competitive market.

One of the device’s standout features is its AI SpinShot function, which enables intelligent rotation for creative shooting, offering users 90-degree and 180-degree motion capture options with a single hand. Super Steady Video mode enhances stability during movement, and all-angle video calling aims to transform remote communication by keeping the user centred and engaged without manual repositioning. Honor’s vision for the Robot Phone goes beyond conventional specs and benchmarks toward a more holistic, experiential form of mobile computing.

Honor has confirmed that the Robot Phone will enter commercial markets later in 2026, with initial availability expected in China followed by broader rollouts. While pricing has yet to be disclosed, industry analysts anticipate a premium positioning given the sophistication of the hardware and the novelty of its embodied AI capabilities. This places the Robot Phone in direct competition with flagship devices from other leading manufacturers, though its unique feature set could carve out a distinct niche among tech enthusiasts and professional content creators.

The unveiling of the Robot Phone at MWC 2026 comes amid a broader push by Honor to expand its artificial intelligence device ecosystem under its Alpha strategy, which includes other innovations such as the Magic V6 foldable smartphone and new ecosystem hardware. This strategic evolution reflects a company that has transitioned from a traditional smartphone vendor to a broader technology innovator, seeking to shape the future of human-device interaction across multiple categories.