Honor had a big first day at Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona 2026 after unveiling a series of innovative products, including the Honor Robot Phone. Having been teased since October last year (2025), a working model of the AI-powered interactive device has finally been showcased at the tech show.
What is the Honor Robot Phone?
Think of a smartphone, a gimbal camera, and AI power in one device — that’s essentially what the Honor Robot Phone is. The device features a robotic camera arm that folds neatly into the back of the phone.
To ensure the phone remains slim rather than bulky, Honor developed its own micro motor, which is 70% smaller than the industry average. Despite its compact size, the motor is strong enough to power what Honor describes as the industry’s smallest 4DoF (four-degree-of-freedom) gimbal system, enabling precise camera movement and stabilisation within the device itself.
The camera module also integrates a three-axis gimbal stabilisation system, allowing the camera to maintain stable shots while physically compensating for movement.
Complementing the mechanical system is a 200MP sensor, designed to capture highly detailed images while working together with the robotic gimbal mechanism.
What can it do and how does it work?
Beyond the hardware, the Honor Robot Phone focuses heavily on interaction and AI-assisted camera control. Instead of behaving like a fixed smartphone camera, the robotic module can move and respond in ways that resemble a small robotic “head”.
The camera can rotate, tilt, nod, and even shake, allowing the phone to express simple gestures during interactions. It can also rotate up to 360° and reposition itself to capture different angles automatically. In lighter moments, the device can even move to the beat of music, turning the robotic camera into a playful interactive feature rather than just a camera module.
One of the key capabilities is AI Object Tracking, which allows the phone to follow people or objects in real time. By continuously analysing what the camera sees, the system can keep the subject centred in the frame without manual adjustment.
This is particularly useful for hands-free video recording, vlogging, and live streaming, where the phone can automatically adjust its position to maintain framing as the subject moves.
The phone also introduces AI SpinShot, which enables automatic 90° and 180° camera rotations during recording. This allows the device to create smooth, cinematic-like transitions, even when the user is shooting one-handed.
For video calls, the robotic camera can actively track the user’s face and movement. As the person moves around, the system adjusts the camera angle automatically, keeping the caller in frame without needing to reposition the phone. This is made possible through precise motion control combined with AI-based face tracking.
Another aspect of the device is what Honor describes as multimodal perception. The phone can detect sound, track motion, and maintain visual awareness of its surroundings, allowing it to respond more naturally during interactions. In practice, this helps the device decide where to look, how to move, and when to adjust the camera, giving it a more responsive and human-like behaviour.
Honor has also partnered with Arri, a well-known professional cinema camera manufacturer, for the phone’s imaging development. The collaboration brings As image science expertise into the project, aiming to improve the device’s colour processing and cinematic image quality.
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