News

HONOR Robot Phone officially launches after its MWC debut

Ready for consumers

Published

August 12, 2026

Rodneil Quiteles

The HONOR Robot Phone is finally becoming a real product.

First shown at MWC 2026, HONOR has now officially launched the unusual smartphone. It’s bringing its moving camera system, AI-powered controls, and ARRI imaging technology to a commercial device.

The Robot Phone stands out because its camera doesn’t simply sit inside the phone. A built-in mechanical gimbal allows the camera to physically move, while AI features can help control that movement.

HONOR is positioning the device as a new kind of smartphone for people who want more freedom when shooting photos and videos.

A camera that can physically move

The Robot Phone’s standout feature is its 4DoF mechanical gimbal. HONOR’s Titanium Agile Gimbal uses more than 100 precision components and is backed by more than 100 patents. The company says it reduced the system’s size by 65% compared with traditional gimbals while increasing its structural strength by 200%.

In practical terms, the gimbal lets the phone’s camera physically move instead of relying entirely on software to stabilize footage. Its titanium motor can rotate at up to 360 degrees per second, allowing the camera to quickly change direction.

The phone supports six camera movement modes, including AI SpinShot, Tilt Locked, Super Steady, FPV, and FPV Vertical. It also has three tracking modes for following subjects and setting up compositions.

That could give smartphone creators more control over moving shots without having to carry a separate gimbal.

AI can control the camera

The Robot Phone also combines its moving hardware with AI.

Its YOYO Robot Mode can use voice commands, gestures, and AI-powered tracking to control the camera. Voice Source Localization and AI Live-Tracking can automatically pan and tilt the camera. This keeps a person in frame during activities such as vlogging, livestreaming, and video calls.

The briefing materials also show how specific these controls can get. Users can give commands such as telling the camera to turn left by a certain angle, look toward the sky, or rotate for a set amount of time.

The idea is simple: instead of always pointing the phone yourself, you can tell the phone where and how you want it to look.

YOYO can also perform more general tasks through HONOR’s agentic AI features, including multi-step actions across supported apps and system settings.

HONOR brings ARRI into the camera

The Robot Phone also marks the first product milestone from HONOR’s Cinematic Imaging Partnership with ARRI.

The collaboration brings selected elements of ARRI Image Science and professional cinema workflows to the smartphone. The main camera supports 10-bit ARRI LogC3 recording, while the phone also supports ARRI Wide Gamut 3 and ARRI Looks.

In simpler terms, these technologies are designed to give creators more control over the look and color of their footage, particularly when they edit it afterward.

HONOR says the phone’s imaging pipeline processes image data in 14-bit 4:4:4 before outputting 10-bit LogC3 and 4:2:2 video. It also claims up to 14 stops of dynamic range and an 8dB improvement in video signal-to-noise ratio through AI noise reduction.

The resulting footage can be brought into software such as DaVinci Resolve. There, creators can apply ARRI LUTs as part of a capture-to-edit workflow.

We’ll have more to say about that workflow once we get our hands on the Robot Phone.

Flagship hardware underneath

The Robot Phone isn’t all camera tricks. It is also equipped like a flagship smartphone.

The phone runs on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile Platform and includes HONOR’s H1 Imaging Chip. It has a 7,060mAh silicon-carbon battery with 120W wired and 50W wireless charging.

For photography, there’s a 200MP Agile Gimbal Main Camera with a 1/1.28-inch sensor and f/1.6 aperture. It’s joined by a 200MP periscope telephoto camera with a 1/1.4-inch sensor and 2.7x optical zoom, plus a 50MP ultra-wide camera.

The phone has a 6.31-inch LTPO OLED display with a 1–120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 6,800 nits. It comes in 12GB + 512GB and 16GB + 1TB configurations.

HONOR says the Robot Phone will be available in Grey and Silver in China, with pricing and availability details to be announced at launch.

The Robot Phone has spent months making appearances at major events. Now, after its MWC debut and subsequent showcases, HONOR is finally putting the device on the path to becoming something consumers can actually buy.

Pricing and availability

The HONOR Robot Phone starts at RMB 9,999 (around USD 1,483) for the 12GB + 512GB model, while the 16GB + 1TB version costs RMB 12,999 (around USD 1,928).

Pre-orders open in China on August 12 at 8:30 PM, with sales officially starting on August 18 at 10:08 AM. The phone will be available through HONOR’s online and retail channels.

Entertainment

Max vs 100 will feature Max Verstappen race against 100 go-karters

The live event will stream at midnight on September 17.

Published

September 15, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

As a child, one of my favorite thought experiments is to imagine who would win in a fight between my favorite characters at the time and a number of other random beings. For example, will Superman prevail against 100 Magnetos? Those are the ways I kept my young mind occupied. Now, as a former child, I still do the same thing but with more realistic people, like imagining if Steph Curry can win against 100 high schoolers. This week, ESPN and Disney+ are making one of those imaginary fights real: Formula 1 legend Max Verstappen versus 100 go-karters.

In an upcoming live event streaming exclusively on Disney+, Max vs 100 will pit the four-time world champion against 100 go-karters from everywhere in pop culture. This gaggle of 100 will include popular content creators such as Twitch streamer ExtraEmily, car photographer Larry Chen, and NBA shooting coach Chris Matthews.

All 101 drivers will race around one of the most iconic tracks in Formula 1 history, Silverstone in England. The track will be reconfigured to match the special race.

Of course, this is more than just a parade of go-karts. Max Verstappen will start at the back of the grid, meaning he has to overtake all 100 racers to win. Now, the Dutch driver is no stranger to winning from the back. In 2024, he won the Sao Paulo Grand Prix despite starting from P17 (out of 20 racers). Max vs 100, though familiar for the driver, presents a different challenge. Can he overtake 100 times to win the race?

Max vs 100 will stream live through Disney+ on September 17, 12:00am PHT.

Apps

Apple’s best feature to cure motion sickness is finally on Android

Google copies a good page from Apple’s playbook.

Published

September 15, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

As an Android user, I’ve been jealous of iPhone users for a while now, but it’s not for the reason you might think. See, I’m ridiculously prone to motion sickness when I’m not driving. So, when I discovered that Apple has a software-based cure called Vehicle Motion Cues, I wanted it immediately. Now, Android does have third-party apps that do the same thing, but they’re not as good as a fully native version. Well, those dark, nauseating days are about to come to an end. Android 17 is finally getting a similar tool called Motion assist.

Before that, let’s rewind for a bit. What do these features do? How can they cure motion sickness?

Whenever you open Vehicle Motion Cues or Motion assist, the interface spawns a series of dots on the screen. These dots respond to movement. For example, if the vehicle turns to the left, the dots also go to the left, mimicking the movement. Without cues like this, the stationary nature of the screen clashes with our brain’s perception of movement. The disparity creates that feeling of nausea. Basically, our eyes are desperately trying to focus on the static screen, but our brains are telling us that we should be seeing motion. Having moving dots reorients our brain and places the phone inside our perception of movement.

Now, you can enable the same feature on your Android 17 device through Settings > All services > Motion assist under Personal & device safety. You can also set it so that the feature turns on automatically when the phone detects that you’re in a moving vehicle. Finally, you can also tweak the shape, color, and opacity of these dots.

Android 17’s Motion assist is rolling out now to compatible devices.

Gaming

Valve unveils price of the Steam Frame

The VR headset starts at US$ 1,059.

Published

September 15, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

The trifecta is complete. Almost a year after announcing their new hardware, Valve has finally unveiled the price tag of the Steam Frame, complementing the Steam Machine and Steam Controller revealed a few months ago.

Whereas the Steam Machine is a console of its own, the Steam Frame is a traditional VR headset with a pair of controllers for both hands. Unfortunately, despite being in a different segment, the headset is not immune to the rising prices of technology. The Steam Frame will start at US$ 1,059 for a 256GB model and can go up to US$ 1,299 for the 1TB model. On the plus side, each box will come Half-Life: Alyx packaged along with the headset.

Here’s a more detailed rundown of what you’re getting. The Steam Frame will ship with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, paired with 16GB of RAM. Each eye comes with a 2160 x 2160 LCD screen, putting out images at up t0 a 144Hz experimental refresh rate. As mentioned above, the headset will start with 256GB of storage but can go up to 2TB. It will come packaged with SteamOS 3 and a rechargeable 21.6Wh battery.

This might be a hard buy for some. The industry currently has more affordable options, for one. Also, virtual reality isn’t the most thriving segment of gaming today.

If you’re still decided on buying one, however, Valve is using its lottery system. Interested customers can sign up from now until September 17. The company will then randomize the purchasing order. Those who draw the first ones in the lottery can get a purchase email as soon as September 18. Meanwhile, anyone who registers after September 17 will automatically be put at the back of the queue.