HONOR Robot Phone goes on sale tomorrow in China with motorised 200MP gimbal camera

HONOR's extraordinary Robot Phone enters official Chinese sales tomorrow, August 18, following pre-orders that began after last week's launch. The flagship starts at RMB 9,999 and combines conventional high-end smartphone hardware with a mechanically articulated camera system. Its 200MP main camera sits on a motorised gimbal capable of moving independently to stabilise footage and track subjects.

HONOR has partnered with ARRI on imaging features including cinema-inspired colour tools, while the phone's YOYO AI system can use the moving camera to react to people and environments. Underneath the mechanism sits Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, a 7,060mAh battery and fast wired and wireless charging. The design inevitably introduces compromises. At 248 grams it is heavier than many conventional flagships, and the moving camera creates more complicated durability and water-resistance challenges.

There is currently no confirmed global retail schedule, so tomorrow's sale focuses on China. The Robot Phone may never become a high-volume device, but it is one of 2026's clearest examples of smartphone makers still experimenting with physical hardware rather than limiting innovation to AI software and camera processing.