Honor unveils 'robot phone' with motorized camera arm

In an announcement on March 1, 2026, ahead of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Chinese consumer electronics company Honor shared details about its upcoming “robot phone.” The company is planning to launch the device in the second half of this year. The phone features a motorized camera arm that can respond to different situations without commands, showing personality-driven responses like head shakes or dancing to the beat of music. Users can interact with the phone’s assistant through text and voice. In a demonstration video, a user asked for apparel suggestions, and the robot responded by nodding or shaking to suggest an outfit.

The hardware includes a 200-megapixel camera mounted on a moving three-axis gimbal system with stabilization technology, including a Super Steady mode for video capture. This robotic camera can rotate by 90 or 180 degrees using a “Spinshot” feature to capture cinematic shots, and supports AI-powered object tracking. This tracking capability functions similarly to Apple’s Center Stage feature, which automatically keeps subjects in frame during video calls.

To control the camera’s physical movements, Honor developed its own micro motor. The company adapted engineering techniques from foldable smartphones to make the camera more sturdy and fit the four-degree-of-freedom gimbal system into the body of a phone. Specifically, the robotic arm is constructed using the same materials as the hinge of the Honor Magic V6 foldable phone, which features a tensile strength of 2800 MPa.

Honor also released several other devices in its hardware lineup:

• Honor Magic V6: A foldable smartphone equipped with a 6,600 mAh battery.
• Honor MagicPad 4: A new tablet release.
• Honor MagicBook 14: A new laptop release.

Why it matters

Honor is diversifying its hardware ecosystem by integrating robotics into mobile devices, signaling a push to differentiate its offerings from competitors like Apple. By combining smartphone utility with physical automation, the company is testing whether hardware-level robotics can serve as a key differentiator in a highly competitive consumer electronics market.