Back in October 2025, Honor gave us a two minute, forty five second video teaser of an upcoming phone it’s calling the ‘Robot Phone’.
This bizarre device has a built-in, robotic camera gimbal arm which unfurls from the rear of the device and has the ability to track the movement of a particular target.
Even as a concept it seems rather bold, but Honor is following through and at MWC 2026 in March we’ll get to see the phone in full working order. For now, at CES 2026, I was able to lay eyes (but not my hands) on the Robot Phone for the first time – although it was not the finished product.
The unit I got to see wasn’t a working device, and the robotic arm was not functioning. It had to be manually unfolded from its recess in the rear of the phone by a Honor employee.
And while I was able to gaze upon this early prototype of the device, there were very few other details available. Which has left me with a bunch of questions that I’ll have to wait until March to have answered.
Will we actually get the Robot Phone?
What the Honor representatives at the preview event could tell me was we’d see a working version of the Robot Phone at MWC.
That’s just two months away though, and I wonder how much work Honor has left to do between now and then to have a fully functioning phone for us to handle.
I remain hopeful that Honor’s vision does come to fruition, because if it does it’s going to be something rather special – if not also a little silly – among the sea of black, flat rectangles pretty much all phones have now become.
How robust will it be?
Again I’ll stress, I got to see an early prototype of the device so it’s not indicative of final build quality, but I’m still concerned over just how robust a robotic arm can be on a smartphone.
It reminds me of the short period between 2018 and 2020 when phone manufacturers started putting pop-up cameras on handsets in a bid to reduce bezels and maximize screen real estate on the front of phones.
It was a novel approach which lead to some fun devices, but the additional of a moving mechanism on a phone threw up questions around durability, longevity and repairability.
In this case the feature was short lived as manufacturers worked out how to do the punch-hole cameras we’re now familiar with.
As for Honor’s Robot Phone, there’s more moving parts and from the gingerly way the camera was folded and unfolded from the prototype I do worry about just how sturdy the final version will be.
Will it work as expected?
As well as being a camera on a motorized gimbal arm, Honor’s teaser video suggests it’ll also be linked to the phone’s AI, providing motion and audio feedback to your questions, prompts, and… according to said video… a crying baby by ‘singing’ a lullaby.
No further information has been provided on its functionality or AI features, but if the camera does have a personality of sorts it could add an interesting additional aspect to this already-intriguing phone.
What happens if it breaks?
Even if Honor does a good job when it comes to durability, there’s no question the robotic arm will be a weak point and susceptible to damage. And if it does get damaged, will it be easy to fix? And how much will a fix be?
It’s likely to be a lot more than just getting your screen glass replaced when you smash it. Phone insurance will be a must-have.
What are the Robot Phone specs?
We currently don’t have any specs for the Honor Robot Phone, we’ll have to wait for its official launch at MWC 2026.
How much is it going to cost?
Again, this is not known – but considering the technology and engineering that will have gone in to making this possible I’d expect the Robot Phone to carry a lofty price tag, if it does indeed actually go on sale.
Will you actually be able to buy it?
And that’s the million dollar question. While Honor could well deliver a fully functional device at MWC, it doesn’t guarantee the handset will enter mass production. It could instead remain as a concept, an example of what is technically possible.
Even if the Robot Phone does make it to general sale, I’d be surprised if it is widely available globally. This could be a device which is limited to China. Even if it does see a wider rollout, Honor currently doesn’t sell its phone in the US so it’s unlikely to make it to your doorstep.
While we wait for March to roll around to find out all the details, here’s the Robot Phone teaser video from October for you to re-watch.
