By now, you’ve probably already heard of the HONOR Robot Phone, which made its debut on the brand’s home turf last week. Billed as “a new species of smartphone”, its main claim to fame is the integrated gimbal camera, which is undeniably part of what makes the device so expensive. With a starting price of CNY9,999 (~RM6,008), getting your hands on one is a costly affair. And unsurprisingly, repairs would burn a hole in all but the deepest of pockets.
As the handset officially goes on sale, the company has published its repair prices. Notably, damaging the gimbal camera would cost users CNY3,079 (~RM1,850). For comparison, replacing the telephoto lens and ultrawide sensor would set you back CNY879 (~RM528) and CNY199 (~RM119) respectively. This huge difference is undoubtedly because of the gimbal system itself, which has a lot of moving parts.
That said, this is not the priciest component to replace. That honour goes to the motherboard. The exact cost depends on which version of the phone, though. For the 12GB + 512GB configuration, this would cost CNY4,599 (~RM2,763). On the other hand, those with the 16GB + 1TB model would have to fork out CNY6,599 (~RM3,965).
While these are eye-watering prices, it’s worth remembering that the phone is pretty expensive to begin with. Unique features aside, the handset was conceived as a premium flagship device. It’s made up of some pretty pricey parts. In any case, the Robot Phone is something you would want to handle with care, since dropping it could spell disaster for your wallet.
With all this in mind, though, unless you’re already in China, your chances of getting the phone are pretty slim. Despite showing it off at the global stage prior to the official launch, HONOR has no plans to bring the phone to other markets.
