Honor’s bold robot phone is real and I just got a first look

When Honor first announced its original Robot Phone in October, I said I should see it and keep it believe it’s real. Three months later, I’m at least halfway there.

HAS CES 2026 I got a first look at a prototype of the phone with its DJI Osmo-style camera and gimbal. Since part of the phone’s body is devoted to housing these elements when folded, it’s naturally not part of the cohort of ultra-thin devices we’ve seen over the past year.

I wasn’t allowed to touch or handle the phone or its arm, but I saw an Honor team member move the camera between different positions. It was interesting to see how neatly the arm was tucked away, leaving the black phone looking, at a glance, almost like any other generic device with a particularly extensive camera module. But I can’t deny that I still can’t wait to get my hands on it to see how well the robotic element of the phone actually works.

Fortunately, I don’t have long to wait. At Mobile World Congress, which will take place in Barcelona in March, Honor will allow me to touch and hold the phone. At this point the robotic arm will work and therefore will not need to be adjusted manually. Unfortunately, we don’t know much else about the phone at this point beyond its design, but its full specs will also be announced at MWC.

When it finally launches, the Robot Phone will likely be a niche product that appeals primarily to content creators. But it will also inject a dose of design boldness into an industry that has struggled to show much imagination over the past decade.

Industry journalists, myself included, are guilty of complaining about the homogenous design of most smartphones, while urging companies to take more risks and give us something to really get excited about. The introduction of foldable phones was a breath of fresh air, but the Robot Phone is a next-level example of thinking beyond the conventional boundaries of phone design.

For my part, I can’t wait to see – and remember – more.