Once again, MWC is packed with innovations and concepts this year, but few are quite as potentially groundbreaking as the Honor Robot Phone. It's something we've known about for a little while now, but Honor used the conference to officially reveal the new device, which might look a bit like any other modern cell phone at first, until, quite suddenly, it doesn't. Confused? Well, stay with me.
The Honor Robot Phone's unique feature is its gimbal system, which emerges from the top of the phone, as you can see in the picture further down this page. The gimbal isn't just for show, though; it reacts to you and the world around it. For example, at the Honor booth, you could watch the gimbal 'dance' to music, even altering its movements to suit the tempo of a specific track, while it can also nod or shake its head to agree or disagree with you, all thanks to the combination of some elite engineering and, yes, you guessed it, AI.
Now, I know what you're asking. Who needs this? Well, as someone more concerned with gaming performance than camera capabilities, I'll be honest, probably not me. However, I can already imagine the possibilities of AI-driven recognition and camera tracking for any content creators out there who record using their phone. The three-axis gimbal system allows for almost unlimited movement when trying to capture a shot, and that's a lot more convenient than the current method of relying on a combination of your phone, a tripod, and a bit of good luck to capture great content.
Whether or not the Robot Phone makes it to the market, we'll have to wait and see, but it's worth noting that I didn't hear the word 'concept' once during the launch event, so I'm wondering whether a launch could be on the cards. How it might fare in a market still dominated by the iPhone is another question entirely. Still, I've got to give the Chinese brand some kudos for attempting something so different, and if Apple isn't already paying attention, it should be.
For more from MWC 2026, check out our pieces covering the weird but potentially wonderful Lenovo Legion Go Fold concept and the Nothing Phone (4a) lineup reveal. Or, if you're after more of the latest in the world of smartphones, see our Xiaomi 17 review and Honor Magic V6 hands-on.