Alongside my almost 15 years as a CNET tech journalist, I’ve spent many years taking photographs around the UK and Europe, and documenting much of the work behind the scenes for my photography YouTube channel. I write, record and edit everything myself. It’s great fun, but sometimes it’s extremely challenging to be out and about, not just with the camera I’m using to take my photos, but with the additional equipment to properly film that process for my videos.
At Mobile World Congress 2026, Honor gave us a much closer look at its Robot Phone concept, which could be an elegant solution for capturing my photo trips without carrying a backbreaking amount of gear. Tucked into this regular Android phone is a robotic camera module that pops out, essentially turning the phone into something more akin to a DJI Osmo Pocket 3.
@cnetdotcom Are we best friends now? For several years, we’ve seen an influx of AI come to smartphones, but so far, that’s resulted primarily in changes to software — not to hardware. The Robot Phone flips that trend on its head by switching up the entire design of a phone in order to infuse it with physical AI capabilities. CNET Principal Writer Katie Collin’s got the chance to check out the phone with an up close and personal demo and here are her first impressions. #honor #honorrobotphone #djiosmopocket3 #robotics #robotphone ♬ original sound – CNET
I want my videos to look as cinematic as possible, so I don’t mind carrying multiple mirrorless camera bodies and a fleet of lenses and filters into the hills to film. I only recently bought an Osmo Pocket 3 and I found it transformative for how I work. It’s about the size of my hand and replaces having to lug around a dedicated camera and a gimbal. The Osmo has given me a way to film high-quality, stabilized video while walking around city streets.
But still, it’s not an ideal solution. The Osmo is relatively chunky, requiring a large jacket pocket at the very least. Its small screen can be fiddly to use, and transferring footage from it can be time-consuming in a hurry.
The Osmo Pocket 3 from DJI has been a seriously helpful tool for me.
Honor’s Robot Phone would solve many of Osmo’s current shortcomings. Replacing my current phone, it would be in my pocket, always ready to go whenever creativity struck. The camera module tucks seamlessly into the phone so it won’t even bulge my pockets out in an embarrassing way. Using the phone’s main screen would give me a large display to monitor my video while recording and review it afterwards. And as it’s an Android phone, I could simply share the video files to Google Drive or directly to YouTube when I’m done.
Sometimes filming in the mountains means carrying a massive backpack of gear.
Honor also says it’s been working with iconic cinema company Arri — maker of cameras like the Alexa, which has been used on countless Hollywood movies. It’s an extremely exciting prospect, especially with Arri’s CEO commenting in a press release, “Our goal is to bring a true cinematic aesthetic to smartphone imaging — natural color, gentle highlight roll-off, and a sense of depth that feels authentic to how stories are meant to be seen.”
It’s a reassuring statement, as I’ve found many of today’s Android phone-makers, Honor included, go quite heavy on the image processing with their cameras, resulting in imagery that looks over-processed and unnatural. But just as Xiaomi recently worked with Leica on the Leitzphone — which I just called the best camera phone I’ve ever used — I’m hoping that Arri’s cinema heritage will help guide Honor toward a product that truly offers what creators like me are looking for.
Xiaomi’s Leitzphone, made in partnership with Leica, is capable of taking truly stunning images. Other phone-makers can learn from this.
The phone is in the concept stage so far, but Honor has said it could be on sale as soon as the second half of the year. Personally, I can’t wait to get my hands on one and start filming.
