After multiple public appearances and even some leaks, the HONOR Robot Phone has made its commercial debut in China. Touted as the “world’s first robotic smartphone”, the device brings together agentic AI capabilities, a cinematic imaging system, as well as flagship features.
As previously revealed, the new handset sports a compact 4DoF mechanical system with a fully motorised 3-axis gimbal, which the brand is calling the HONOR Titanium Agile Gimbal. According to the brand, this system features a 2.6g titanium gimbal motor that enables control speeds of up to 360° per second, as well as a steel flip motor that delivers a torque density of 120 Nm/L. Combined, this allows for fast, precise movement and stable positioning.
The phone’s camera system is the first product of the company’s partnership with ARRI. The brand also confirms that this partnership will continue with the upcoming Magic9 series, but that’s neither here nor there. Going back to the Robot Phone, it features a 200MP gimbal main camera with a 1/1.28-inch sensor and f/1.6 aperture. This lens supports 10-bit ARRI LogC3 recording in ARRI CINEMA mode. The device also comes with a 200MP periscope telephoto lens with a 1/1.4-inch sensor and 2.7x optical zoom. Completing the setup is a 50MP ultra-wide shooter with a 122° FOV.
The collaboration also brings features like ARRI Wide Gamut 3 and ARRI Looks to the device, providing a broader colour space and various cinematic colour styles. Also on board is the HONOR H1 Imaging Chip. Furthermore, the camera arm supports a range of cinematic movement modes, including Tilt Lock, First Person View (FPV), FPV Vertical, and AI SpinShot.
In terms of AI capabilities, the smartphone comes with a new YOYO Robot Mode. It leverages multimodal perception and contextual understanding to automatically pan and tilt, keeping the user in frame during recording or video calls. It also supports voice and hands-free gesture controls, so creators can deploy the camera arm and take shots without touching the device. Aside from that, the YOYO Auto Execution feature lets a system-level AI agent execute complex, multi-step tasks on the user’s behalf. The device is also armed with a variety of expressions and interactions like nodding, peeking, and dancing to music.
As for the other features, the Robot Phone sports an all-metal integrated molding unibody design measuring 9.6mm thick and weighing a fairly hefty 248g. It features a 6.31-inch LTPO OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 6,800 nits. Internally, the device packs a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC, up to 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage, as well as a massive 7,060mAh silicon-carbon battery with 120W wired and 50W wireless charging.
The HONOR Robot Phone comes in Grey and Silver finishes. As for pricing, the 12GB+512GB model retails for CNY9,999 (~RM6,056), while the 16GB+1TB variant is available for CNY12,999 (~RM7,873). If you’re looking to get your hands on one, though, you may be out of luck as it’s currently only available in China. At the moment, the company has no plans to bring the phone to our shores.
(Source: HONOR)
