Honor has officially launched its bizarre-looking Robot Phone in China.
The phone brings a motorised gimbal, AI-powered tracking and cinema-focused video features to a smartphone. But despite the unusual hardware, the phone starts at RMB 9,999. That is around £1,090/$1,390 before taxes and regional pricing.
The Robot Phone is Honor’s first smartphone with an integrated 4-DoF mechanical gimbal, allowing its camera to physically move rather than relying entirely on software stabilisation.
There are two versions of the phone. The 12GB RAM and 512GB model costs RMB 9,999. Meanwhile, the higher-end 16GB RAM and 1TB version costs RMB 12,999. Pre-orders are now open in China, with sales beginning on 18 August.
A phone that moves its camera
The standout feature is Honor’s Titanium Agile Gimbal, which is integrated directly into the phone. Honor claims it has reduced the size of the mechanism by 65% compared with mainstream gimbals. At the same time, structural strength has increased by 200%.
The gimbal motor can move at speeds of up to 360 degrees per second. This allows the camera to pan and tilt while recording. Honor has also built several shooting modes around the mechanism including Tilt Lock, First Person View, FPV Vertical and AI SpinShot.
The phone can also use AI to track subjects automatically. Honor says its AI Subject Tracking and voice source localisation features can keep users in frame while recording vlogs, livestreaming or making video calls. Gesture controls can also deploy the camera arm and trigger recording.
A cinema-focused camera system
Honor has partnered with professional cinema camera manufacturer ARRI to bring elements of its image processing and production workflow to the Robot Phone.
The main camera is a 200MP Agile Gimbal camera with a 1/1.28-inch sensor and an f/1.6 aperture. It’s joined by a 200MP periscope telephoto camera with 2.7x optical zoom and a 50MP ultra-wide camera with a 122-degree field of view.
The main camera can record 10-bit ARRI LogC3 in ARRI CINEMA mode, while Honor also supports ARRI Wide Gamut 3 and ARRI Looks. The company says its processing pipeline works with 14-bit 4:4:4 data. After processing, it outputs 10-bit LogC3 and 4:2:2 video.
Other specifications include Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, a 7,060mAh battery, 120W wired charging and 50W wireless charging. There’s also a 6.31-inch LTPO OLED display with a 1-120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 6,800 nits.
The Robot Phone will be available in China from 18 August, with no word on whether the phone will eventually debut outside of Honor’s home region.
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