Honor’s experimental “Robot Phone” is set to make a public appearance at the World AI Conference on July 18, and a newly surfaced hands-on video offers the clearest look yet at its motorized camera system and overall design. While the company has already shared select specifications and confirmed the device’s exterior, the leaked clip reveals the mechanism in real-world operation and gives a sense of the phone’s physical dimensions.
A Gimbal That Moves on Its Own
The footage, posted on X by Tech Info with a @Tech Xiaoxin watermark, shows the rear of the handset with the primary camera and gimbal assembly resting flush inside its housing. A dedicated button within the camera app triggers a small robotic arm, which lifts the gimbal module and positions it above the body of the phone. The sequence mirrors earlier teaser clips from Honor’s Alpha Lab, but seeing the mechanism operate in an unscripted setting adds a tangible sense of how it behaves during everyday use.
Once extended, the camera appears to lock onto a subject and maintain tracking even when the user shifts the phone slightly. It then reorients itself to keep the intended target in frame. The motorized head and gimbal stabilization work together to produce footage that appears notably fluid, with the robotic movement smoothing out typical hand jitter.
A Bulkier Build for a Moving Camera
The leaked video also highlights the device’s thickness. Accommodating a moving arm within the camera island has required internal adjustments that make the Robot Phone noticeably thick at first glance, and the camera module itself protrudes further from the back. On the right-hand edge, the power button, volume rocker, and what appears to be a capacitive camera control are visible, suggesting a layout tuned for quick access to imaging features.
Timing and Market Expectations
Honor is expected to release the Robot Phone commercially in China during the third quarter, though an exact date has not been given. A launch on July 18 remains a possibility: pre-orders are already live, and the company’s CEO has publicly stated that the device is ready. With motorized moving parts still an outlier in the smartphone landscape, the Robot Phone will likely draw comparisons to earlier pop-up camera experiments while aiming to carve out its own niche with active subject tracking and gimbal-grade stabilization.
Source: x.com