Image: Honor Chinese technology startup Honor has unveiled a CGI video teaser showcasing a concept smartphone with a gimbal-mounted camera. Honor has dubbed it the "Robot Phone" and says it will share additional details at Mobile World Congress in 2026.
Honor says the Robot Phone combines the mobility of a smartphone with the intelligence of an AI-driven robotic camera. As of now, the company has only revealed the CGI video, with no information on real hardware. It could simply represent conceptual exploration; however, it shows that Honor is thinking about novel solutions for smartphone photography and videography.
It's not the first phone to feature a pop-up camera, but it certainly is taking a different approach. Existing renditions of the idea, such as the OnePlus 7 Pro and Oppo Reno 2Z, feature a tiny pop-up selfie camera to do away with the notch on the display. The Robot Phone, however, is a much larger-looking camera mounted to a gimbal. It is drawing comparisons to the DJI Osmo Pocket 3, though integrated into a smartphone instead of functioning as a standalone device. Indeed, it looks remarkably similar to the popular vlogging camera and could be an interesting option for vloggers.
The teaser video also brings to mind characters like Wall-E. The video features Disney-like music and brings the camera to life, with the device poking out of a person's pocket while they walk around. The Robot Phone also screams while skydiving, nods when helping someone pick out an outfit and plays peekaboo to cheer up a baby.
Image: Honor
Although the phone doesn't exist yet, the concept video created by Honor illustrates its potential if engineering challenges don't crash into reality. The real challenge lies in fitting a 360-degree multi-axis rotating gimbal within the limited space of a camera bulge in the back of a compact mobile phone while still accommodating everything else.
Fitting this technology into a smartphone remains a tight squeeze considering motherboards, circuitry, and a battery large enough to last the day, as people have come to expect. However, if Honor succeeds, it could prove a useful device for content creators.
While the phone may not possess the Wall-E-like personality depicted in the video, it hints at exciting possibilities. We should know more soon since Honor aims to showcase something at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next spring.
Until then, interested users can sign up for progress updates and even participate in early testing and evaluation on the Honor website.
. dpreview.com2025-10-20 00:02
