Honor Robot Phone rethinks mobile video with a robotic camera arm

Honor is readying an unusual smartphone called Robot Phone that could move well beyond the traditional mobile market and even challenge players such as DJI. The company has already shown a working prototype at the Honor User Carnival in China, and at first glance it looks like a regular handset. Hidden behind that familiar exterior, though, is a defining feature: a mechanical camera module with a movable arm that can reposition itself on its own.

From Honor’s own comments, it is clear Robot Phone is meant to be more than a one-off experiment. A senior executive spoke about wrapping up a project he described as extremely important, one the team worked on for nearly a year, and said the company’s video capabilities next year could leave rivals far behind. The remarks drew extra attention because he directly named DJI as the yardstick for mobile videography.

When users pointed out that Apple has long been seen as the smartphone video standard, Luo responded bluntly, saying the real reference point for mobile video is DJI—and that this is the rival Honor intends to take on. For a smartphone brand, that stance is unusual and underscores how serious the company’s ambitions are.

Many link these statements to the Robot Phone itself. The built-in mechanical camera module may be an attempt to bring into a smartphone the qualities that make DJI’s gear popular: physical stabilization, fluid camera movement, intelligent subject tracking, and a more cinematic look. Compared with software-only stabilization, that approach could offer a different level of control over footage, shifting the focus from fixing shake afterward to guiding motion as you shoot.

Honor is expected to officially unveil Robot Phone in 2026 in Barcelona. The device is positioned as a hybrid of a smartphone and a personal camera, combining AI features, smart mechanics, and powerful image processing to turn the phone from a passive gadget into an active shooting tool.