China's Honor shows off smartphone with robotic camera arm and teases a humanoid robot

Honor on Sunday showed off the capabilities of its Robot Phone as the Chinese electronics firm looks to stand out from some of its bigger rivals like Samsung and Apple . The company, which spun off from Huawei in 2020, also launched the Magic V6, its latest foldable smartphone, as part of its event at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Sunday. In addition, Honor teased a humanoid robot, but with very few details. The releases come against the backdrop of the ongoing shortage and unprecedented price surge of memory chips , which is expected to see device makers increase prices and strain demand for smartphones in 2026. Honor first teased the Robot Phone in October. It features a camera on a robotic arm that pops out of the main body of the device. For those into video work, it looks like it's inspired by the Osmo product line from Chinese dronemaker DJI. The camera, which is powered by a small motor, can lock onto an object or person and track it as it moves. A user can talk to Honor's AI assistant, and the camera can then respond with a yes or no answer by nodding. Honor said it aims to make the phone commercially available in China in the second half of the year. The camera on the Honor Robot Phone folds back into the body of the device. Honor The Robot Phone shows how companies like Honor are looking to stand out in a sea of similar-looking smartphones and give users a compelling enough reason to upgrade or switch from their current device. The device is expected to be expensive and continues Honor's push into the high-end area of the market where it is looking to challenge the likes of Samsung and Apple , particularly in overseas markets like Europe. In China, Honor ended the year as the sixth-biggest smartphone player with a market share of just over 13%, according to Counterpoint Research. But it's a much smaller player overseas, where it is trying to establish a brand presence. Its market share in Europe in 2025 was 3%, according to Omdia research. Hono...