Honor has confirmed its unusual ‘Robot Phone’ will officially launch in China next month, bringing a motorised camera arm and AI-powered subject tracking to a commercial smartphone.

The device, which Honor describes as the world’s first “robot phone”, will launch on August 12, setting up a direct clash with Google’s expected unveiling of the Pixel 11 smartphone, as well as the Pixel Watch 5, on the same day.

The robot phone was previously demonstrated at CES 2026, Mobile World Congress and the Cannes Film Festival. It was also spotted being held by Spanish footballer Eric García during celebrations after Spain’s 2026 FIFA World Cup victory (pictured below).

The phone’s headline feature is a retractable gimbal camera built into the rear camera module. When activated, the camera extends from the phone on a compact mechanical arm, allowing it to rotate, follow subjects and automatically adjust framing.

Honor claims the titanium gimbal system occupies 70% less space than conventional designs and can rotate through 360 degrees. It is also designed to capture smoother handheld and vlog-style footage without requiring a separate stabiliser.

The imaging system has been jointly developed with German cinema camera company ARRI, with reports pointing to support for Log-C colour profiles, cinematic LUTs and manual controls including focus and white balance locking.

Honor has yet to publicly confirm the complete specification sheet, but leaks suggest the phone will feature a 200MP gimbal-mounted main camera, a 200MP periscope telephoto lens and a 50MP ultra-wide camera.

It is also tipped to run Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, include a battery of about 6,000mAh and support 120W wired charging.

Reservations have opened in China, with customers required to pay a 500 yuan (about A$106) deposit for access to a dedicated purchase channel. The deposit does not guarantee stock, with orders reportedly being fulfilled according to when customers complete payment.

Reported configurations include 12GB of RAM with 512GB of storage and 16GB with 1TB, in Star Trail Silver and Moon Shadow Grey.

Australian pricing, availability and a possible international release remain unconfirmed.