Smartphone launches have increasingly become exercises in incremental gains, but Honor is betting a motorized camera system can reset expectations. The company officially made the Robot Phone available to buyers in China on Wednesday, according to WIRED. Honor calls the device a “new species of smartphone” aimed at modern mobile content creators, and its defining feature is a gimbal-powered camera that pops up from the top of the chassis.
A Gimbal Small Enough for a Handset
WIRED reported that building the roving camera required Honor to develop its own micro-motor, because off-the-shelf gimbal components were too large. The titanium-alloy motor Honor created weighs just 2.6 grams and reduces volume by 65 percent compared with traditional gimbals on the market, according to the report. It is embedded in a 6.3-inch smartphone that measures 151.43 x 72.86 x 9.59 mm and weighs 248 grams; WIRED notes the iPhone 17 Pro, by comparison, is 8.75 mm thick and 206 grams. Despite the concentration of camera parts at the top and the large 7,060-mAh silicon-carbon battery inside, WIRED said the Robot Phone felt decently balanced rather than top-heavy.
Four Degrees of Freedom for Video
The gimbal main camera is a 200-megapixel shooter, joined by a 200-megapixel telephoto, a 50-megapixel ultrawide, and a 50-megapixel selfie camera. WIRED described the gimbal as having four degrees of freedom and a 300-degree rotation range, which lets it double as a selfie camera. Users activate it from the camera app, by making a palm motion on the selfie camera, or by sliding a glass cover to the right. Once active, the camera can be controlled manually for ultra-smooth video or set to preset motions for a cinematic look, WIRED reported. The phone also supports natural-language voice commands such as “turn around for 5 seconds.”
- 200-MP gimbal main camera
- 200-MP telephoto camera
- 50-MP ultrawide camera
- 50-MP selfie camera
- 4 degrees of freedom, 300-degree rotation
WIRED reported that motorized stabilization makes action shots that usually look shaky on smartphones appear remarkably smooth. A subject tracker keeps a selected person in frame as they move, a feature WIRED says could help solo travelers vlogging their trips. The same tracking mode works in video calls, and a group selfie mode uses the gimbal to capture left, center, and right frames that are stitched into a wide panorama. Honor includes a case and a magnetic stand, according to WIRED, so the phone can sit on a table while the camera follows the user.
Specs, Availability, and Positioning
| Spec | Honor Robot Phone |
|---|---|
| Display | 6.31-inch, 120 Hz, OLED |
| Processor, RAM, Storage | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, 12 or 16 GB RAM, 512 GB or 1 TB storage |
| Cameras | 200-MP gimbal main, 200-MP telephoto, 50-MP ultrawide, 50-MP selfie |
| Battery and Charging | 7,060 mAh, 120-watt wired, 50-watt wireless |
| Size and Weight | 151.43 x 72.86 x 9.59 mm, 248 grams |
| Colors | Silver, Gray |
| Water Resistance | IP54 |
Honor has been teasing the Robot Phone since late 2025, according to WIRED. The phone is currently China-exclusive, and pricing has not yet been confirmed. Honor was originally a subsidiary of Huawei but is now a wholly independent company, WIRED reported. Its Android phones are sold in the UK, Europe, Africa, and Latin America, but it has no presence in the US. With the Robot Phone, Honor is positioning the handset against dedicated gimbal cameras such as the DJI Osmo Pocket and the Insta360 Luna Ultra, betting that a phone-integrated gimbal will appeal to video-first users who no longer want to carry a separate stabilizer.
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