Honor’s Influencer-Coded Robot Phone Set for Fall Launch in China

When Chinese phone-maker Honor first teased its Robot Phone back at the end of last year, I wondered if the concept would ever see the light of day. But after interacting with an early version of the device at Mobile World Congress in March, I became convinced it was really going to happen. Now, it has a launch date — well, almost.

Honor is set to launch the Robot Phone in the third quarter of this year in China, the company announced after taking the device on a night out at the Cannes Film Festival last week. As for Honor’s Humanoid Robot, which also made its debut at MWC? It looks like that might not be quite ready for a full consumer launch just yet.

When I saw the Robot Phone working at MWC, it struck me as being part of a trend in which we’re starting to see less boring phones come to the fore. But even amid a sea of novelty, there’s nothing quite like this.

At first glance, there might not seem to be anything unusual about the Robot Phone, but look again, and you’ll see that a sliding cover hides a robotic arm with a gimbal and a camera. To coax the camera out of its hiding place, you simply hold your palm up to the front-facing camera, turn that same hand around, and out it swings.

Thanks to the gimbal, the camera is capable of stabilized tracking shots. In my short time playing with the phone, I also saw that the robotic arm could dance in time with movement, and that the camera could work in tandem with AI software to look you up and down and assess your outfit. (In my case, the conclusion was favorable.) But the real test for the Robot Phone still lies ahead.

Cinematic credentials to woo creators

The clear target audience for the Robot Phone is the influencers and creators who currently use handheld action cams, such as the DJI Osmo Pocket. These devices are popular because they’re small and versatile, while offering superb image quality.

For Honor to dream of rivaling handheld cameras, it will need to ensure that it can at least match, if not exceed, that quality. As announced at MWC, it has a secret weapon in this department in the form of a partnership with ARRI, a company that’s made high-end cinema cameras since 1917.

“Today, consumer smartphones have already become a serious tool in professional filmmaking, being used on blockbusters across the globe,” said David Bermbach, managing director at ARRI, in a press release. “That’s why we believe it is time to bring these worlds even closer together. For the first time ever, core elements of ARRI Image Science are being integrated directly into a consumer device.”

If Honor can bring the quality ARRI is known for to its well-regarded phones, as well as ensure the Robot Phone’s mechanical features are truly durable, it could have a compelling product on its hands that encourages creators to toss their standalone cameras aside. 

Mark your calendars for fall — this might just be one of the most unusual and exciting phone launches of the year.