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DJI Osmo Pocket 3: the best video camera for travelling
by Lorenz Keller
Honor launches mobile with retractable robot camera
16.10.2025
Translation: machine translated
At the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Honor plans to present a robotic smartphone with a movable arm and camera lens. The first teaser raises questions.
Gadget fans can look forward to the beginning of March 2026. This is when Chinese smartphone manufacturer Honor plans to unveil a very special new product at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. I watched the first video teaser for the «Robot Phone» - it thrilled and shocked me in equal measure.
A better camera with a gimbal
What is clear from the pictures: The smartphone has a camera with multiple lenses. One camera is not permanently installed, but is attached to a robotic arm and hidden behind a cover - where it can be used as normal. When the flap moves downwards, the arm folds out and the camera can rotate in all directions on a gimbal.
The concept looks like a DJI Osmo Pocket that has been integrated directly into a smartphone.
This concept has several advantages for video and photo shoots. Such a gimbal arm can stabilise recordings much better. This allows you to film yourself in high quality, as the sensor can be rotated 180 degrees at the touch of a button. A smartphone with a gimbal is more flexible and easier to use as a video camera than a normal mobile phone. And it enables unusual shooting angles for photos - without you having to contort yourself too much.
This AI is cringe
So far, so understandable and sensible. But Honor is also touting the «Robot Phone» as a digital assistant with artificial intelligence. In the press release, Honor talks about the «emotional companion» and a new definition of «human-machine interaction and coexistence». In the clip, the manufacturer hints at possible application scenarios - at least some of which are strange.
In the first scene, the robot camera sticks out of the breast pocket of a jacket and appears to be looking around on its own. What does it notice? A woman in an evening dress walking past, smiling. The AI turns to follow her and wags its head, the only thing missing is the whistle. Cringe is probably the right word for it.
At a fireworks display, the smartphone lies on the table with the screen, the arm sticks out and takes the most beautiful scenes on its own. Afterwards, it seems to automatically take a group photo, and when skydiving, the device records clips without you having to worry about it. In other words: The phone doesn't miss any important moments - even if you're busy doing something else. With partying - or with pulling the ripcord in time.
Sticking with the clichés: women are not only nodded at, the AI camera also tells them if their dress doesn't match the required dress code. «Draped Halter Neck Gown» should be worn by the woman - logical, right? The phone then becomes a baby monitor and sings a soothing song as soon as the child cries. Parents know: it doesn't work that easily.
I honestly hope that an overzealous marketing department was allowed to run riot here and that Honor will focus more on useful camera applications instead of AI gimmicks in the final device. A small robot cam that automatically films everything and everyone from your jacket pocket - that's probably not what anyone in Europe wanted.
Header image: Honor
Lorenz Keller
Senior Editor
Lorenz.Keller@digitecgalaxus.chGadgets are my passion - whether you need them for the home office, for the household, for sport and pleasure or for the smart home. Or, of course, for the big hobby next to the family, namely fishing.
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