After a long series of teasers, the first smartphone to come from the partnership between cinema camera maker ARRI and Chinese mobile phone brand Honor is here – but the unusual Honor Robot Phone may be just the start of the collaboration.
Unveiled on August 12, the much-teased Honor Robot Phone has an unusual camera design: a folding gimbal that sits at the top of the phone. That gimbal camera powers steadier video, but also tricks like following subjects as they move and stitching three photos together for a wider group shot. The gimbal even has a party trick – it can dance if you ask the Yoyo AI assistant.
That gimbal houses a 200MP telephoto camera and a 50MP wide-angle camera. There’s a 50MP selfie camera too, though the gimbal can turn the camera around as far as 300 degrees.
The gimbal tucks away into the back of the phone when not in use, despite still being under 10mm (0.37 inches) thick. Weather resistance is still part of the Robot Phone’s design – though not as much as some devices, and the camera needs to be tucked away to earn the IP54 rating.
Beyond the camera’s unusual gimbal design, cinema camera maker ARRI’s influence is evident. The Robot Phone uses ARRI color science, but the brands say the colors were rebuilt specifically for a smartphone’s smaller sensors and optics.
Integrating ARRI camera tech into a smartphone puts capture and editing in the same device. The camera captures 10-bit ARRI Log C3, allowing for more highlight and shadow detail, while Looks and Wide Gamut 3 help boost color edits.
The Honor Robot Phone, however, has so far only been announced in China – availability in additional countries has not yet been released, and Honor does not currently have a presence in the US. Regardless, the unusual design is eye-catching.
The two brands' partnership points to the potential for further collaborations down the road.
“The companies’ joint imaging technology lab is exploring further developments in three areas: sensor-level optics and dynamic range; end-to-end cinema industry workflows from capture through postproduction; and imaging realism and aesthetic standards in the era of AI,” the announcement reads. “As part of this ongoing work, the companies will continue to refine and advance the integrated imaging technologies.”
In China, the Robot phone costs 9,999 RMB, which is about $1,483 / £1,099 / AU$2,100.
You may also like
Take a look at the best smartphones for photography, or dive into gimbal cameras like the DJI Pocket 4 or the Insta360 Luna Ultra.
