Honor Unveils Robot Phone With Gimbal-Mounted Camera and AI Companion as Smartphone Industry Races Toward AI-First Designs

Honor's new Robot Phone launches with a gimbal-mounted 200MP camera and AI companion YOYO that tracks user movements, as the smartphone industry accelerates toward AI-first designs with Samsung, Apple, and Google all racing to define the next era of mobile technology.

• Honor's new Robot Phone features a gimbal-mounted robot arm with a 200MP camera and an AI assistant named YOYO, which tracks user movements and responds with expressive animations, positioning itself as an 'AI companion' currently available only in China.
• The most compelling use case for the Robot Phone's gimbal is enabling hands-free, multimodal AI interactions — such as following a user around a kitchen — though the phone still requires a kickstand, making it a promising but early-stage concept.
• The broader smartphone industry is shifting toward AI-friendly form factors, with Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8 already on sale, Apple rumored to enter the foldable market in September, and Google's newly launched Pixel 11 Pro Fold emerging as a potential top contender if its hardware catches up to its best-in-class AI integration.