Honor has unveiled a “Robot Phone,” which is a concept device that includes an AI-enhanced gimbal-mounted camera that can be unfolded from the back of the phone and is able to take pictures and record videos in any direction.
The device—currently only presented through computer-generated imagery in a promotional clip, while real hardware remains completely unseen—resembles a conventional, though a bit thick, smartphone. The phone carries the letter “alpha” denoting the company’s “Alpha Plan” corporate vision instead of an Honor logo, and the most obvious sign that something is going on is the large camera module that is divided into two sections.
A camera arm then unfolds with a comical cartoonish giggle (it… really does giggle, at least in the video), showing that the leading camera can rotate up for selfies, and also for taking from different places and angles, apparently moving by its own choice. This would make it a more sophisticated and advanced successor to the likes of 2019’s Asus Zenfone 6, which rotated its primary cameras up and over for taking the pictures of the users.
It is extremely similar to the mini gimbal camera found on the DJI Osmo Pocket, yet Honor’s video wants to portray it as being so smart that it can not only take pictures but also calm babies and even wonderingly stare at the stars.
“With the Robot Phone, Honor is not only presenting the future phone but the future as well,” the company stated in a press release. “It becomes a robot-like emotional companion that, sensing, adapting, and evolving autonomously, enriches the lives of its users with love, joy, and wisdom.”
At Mobile World Congress next spring, Honor will be disclosing more about the Robot Phone and possibly giving us an opportunity to see it live.
The Robot Phone was the “one more thing…” announcement of Honor at the end of a more ordinary launch event for the Magic 8 flagship phones, two of which will be available in China this month and will be released internationally by the end of the year.
