I waved the Honor Robot Phone, and it danced again
Honor’s Robot Phone stands out as the most infamously named device doing the rounds at this year’s MWC, but it looks like it’s slowly but surely making its way into becoming a real product. Honor announced at the show that it will indeed be available for purchase this year, without further details that it would be in the second half of 2026.
There followed that bombardment of more detailed demos and demonstrations of the phone’s capabilities than those given in previous shows and announcements, and in its place on the display stage, I got an extended demo of what the Robot Phone is like interacting with.
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It was also able to perform the kind of rapid visual inspection that chatbots have become famous for in recent months. A quick look at my outfit, for example, confirmed that it was a “good choice” for a tech show (always a nice feeling, although flattery seems to be the default mode).
Of course, my opinion would be that you need to get these AI features out of your head and focus on the actual usage that the Robot Phone brings to the table. Sure, it can dance to music, but who’s going to use that feature all the time? In contrast, its gimbal offers some visual features.
For one, I watched a demo where an Honor employee jogged on a treadmill while recording a video, and the gimbal’s automatic subject tracking and auto stabilization meant the results were smooth compared to most phone cameras.
The phone initially looked like a DJI Osmo camera in a phone, after all, so getting some of the benefits of a stabilized action camera is one of the main reasons to be interested in it.
(Image credit: Future)
That also brings me to the undeniably impressive core of the Robot Phone – it’s one testament to Honor’s R&D department. The small motors on the gimbal are custom made and absurdly small, and the mechanical nature of the way it can rotate to hide in the back of the phone is undeniably neat.
However, that reliance on mechanical and moving parts should also leave one wondering how long the phone will last, which brings us to other practical questions. Would this type of phone have a decent remote IP rating for water and dust resistance, for example?
Along the same lines, while Honor has significantly confirmed that the Robot Phone will be available in the second half of 2026, how many units will be produced? How much will each phone cost a customer to purchase, and will it be available outside of China? Does Honor really expect to make money from the phone or potential takers, or is this a proof of concept and potential?
These are all questions that won’t get answers for a long time yet – Honor may now sit back and reflect on the MWC show where it managed to stay on the front foot. Having had a fair amount of demo time with the Robot Phone, though, I’m curious to know more about how it will fit into the market.
