HONOR Robot Phone Officially Launches In China, Which Is The Only Place You Can Buy It

After making a whole lot of noise about turning itself as an “AI device ecosystem company,” HONOR has finally got its Robot Phone launched in China proper, where customers can get a phone-plus-companion in their hands. For now, that’s the only place you can buy it – but we wouldn’t rule out wider launch if the new smartphone proves to be a commercial success.

HONOR Robot Phone Is Officially On Sale

The highlight of the smartphone is the robotic arm which acts as the “eye” of the AI – it features a 4DoF mechanical system built around the HONOR Titanium Agile Gimbal, developed through 60 manufacturing processes and containing more than 100 precision components, with HONOR claiming more than 100 patents backing the design. The company says the system reduces overall gimbal size by 65% compared to mainstream gimbals, while increasing structural strength by 200%.

HONOR Robot Phone Officially Launches In China, Which Is The Only Place You Can Buy It HONOR Robot Phone Officially Launches In China, Which Is The Only Place You Can Buy It

The gimbal’s Titanium Gimbal Motor, weighing 2.6 grams, enables control speeds of up to 360 degrees/second, while the HONOR Super Steel Flip Motor delivers a torque density of 120 Nm/L. All of that, plus the imaging, is co-developed with cinematic imaging giant ARRI as part of the new partnership – the rear camera system includes a 200MP 1/1.28-inch sensor and f/1.6 aperture, a 200MP 1/1.4-inch sensor with 2.7x periscope telephoto lens, and a 50MP ultrawide with a 122-degree FOV. The main camera supports 10-bit ARRI LogC3 recording in ARRI CINEMA mode.

HONOR says the smartphone’s imaging pipeline combines ARRI LogC3, ARRI Wide Gamut 3, and ARRI Looks with its in-house H1 Image Chip. The AI noise reduction improves video signal-to-noise ratio by 8 dB, while AI dynamic range optimization supports up to 14 stops of dynamic rang; video is processed in 14-bit 4:4:4 before output as 10-bit LogC3 4:2:2 footage, which can be imported into editing software such as DaVinci Resolve with ARRI LUTs applied. Beyond the HONOR Robot Phone, the tech developed from this phone will be featured in the upcoming HONOR Magic9 Series.

Running on MagicOS, the device includes a YOYO Robot Mode that combines multimodal perception, gesture recognition, and physical movement – Voice Source Localization and AI Live-Tracking allow the camera to pan and tilt automatically during recording, while hands-free gesture controls allow users to operate the camera arm without touching the device. The system also includes YOYO Auto Execution, which HONOR states allows the device’s AI agent to carry out multi-step tasks across applications, along with an Agent Skills API for third-party developers.

HONOR Robot Phone Officially Launches In China, Which Is The Only Place You Can Buy It

On the more conventional side of things, the HONOR Robot Phone is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset and a 7,060mAh silicon-carbon battery supporting 120W wired and 50W wireless charging. It features a 6.31-inch LTPO OLED display with adaptive refresh rates between 1-120Hz, peak brightness of 6,800 nits, and 4320Hz PWM dimming for eye comfort. Two configurations is offered in its home market: the 12GB+512GB is priced at 9,999 Chinese Yuan (~RM6,059), while 16GB+1TB is priced at 12,999 Chinese Yuan (~RM7,876).

Pokdepinion: It seemed like the marketing has put less focus on the companion side of things, and more on the ARRI hardware. Perhaps the idea of AI companions don’t exactly sell given what seemed like poor reception from the public?