I caught the HONOR announcement at MWC 2026 in Barcelona and honestly, it got me pretty hyped. It didn’t feel like the usual “here’s a slightly better camera and faster chip” routine—they’re actually trying to rethink what a phone (and AI-powered gadgets in general) could be. They started with their bigger picture: pushing this Augmented Human Intelligence (AHI) idea and cranking up their ALPHA PLAN through three connected pieces—Alpha Phone, Alpha Store, and Alpha Lab. It’s all centered on human-centric AI that actually solves real-life stuff instead of just chasing specs.
This is next-level weird in the best possible way. They’ve built a proper DJI Pocket 3-style gimbal straight into the phone—a tiny, super-smooth 4DoF motorized camera system that pops out and moves around like it’s alive. They managed to cram robot-grade stabilization and motion control into something that still fits in your pocket, using crazy-small high-performance motors and tricks they learned from making foldables. The demo clips were wild.
They’re calling it a “new species of smartphone” with embodied intelligence—giving AI not just smarts, but actual physical “hands and feet” for more natural interactions. HONOR said it’ll launch in the second half of 2026 (probably kicking off in China first, global details still fuzzy), so we’re not waiting forever. Still a concept right now, but I’m keeping an eye on this one. That naturally leads to the big pricing question that’s been rattling around in my head: will this thing actually be worth it, or are content creators better off just buying a decent flagship phone + a separate DJI Pocket 3 (or Pocket 4 by then)? HONOR hasn’t given official prices yet, but leaks and speculation are pointing to premium territory—maybe $1,000–$1,400 range, given the custom gimbal hardware, fancy motors, embodied AI features, and what’ll probably be top-tier phone specs underneath. Right now a DJI Osmo Pocket 3 is about $500 (or $600-ish for the Creator Combo with mics and stuff), and a solid mainstream flagship phone can be $800–$1,200. So doing both separately might end up in the same ballpark or even cheaper if you hunt deals.
This product looks really fragile to me. If it is dropped onto the floor, I am sure the gimbal will break and there goes your $1000.
But if you just want smooth stabilized video without all the “living device” personality stuff, the separate combo route probably wins on price, flexibility, and the ability to upgrade the gimbal later without replacing your whole phone. They also showed off their first humanoid robot tease, which connects to the same ecosystem vibe. It’s aimed at everyday help—shopping assistance, workplace checks, but especially companionship. Coming from a phone maker, they’re leaning hard on using data from your devices so the robot instantly knows who you are and can give personalized physical help. Watching the robot interact with the Robot Phone in the clips felt straight-up sci-fi.
On the more normal side, they launched the Magic V6 foldable. It’s ridiculously thin for a book-style folder, has this new silicon-carbon battery that gives great battery life without making it chunky, killer display quality, and solid AI productivity tools. The Magic V6 is an upgraded Magic V5
MagicPad 4 and MagicBook Pro laptop were introduced that fits into the Honor ecosystem.
The value debate is real for creators: all-in-one magic or separate tools that might be cheaper and more upgradeable? What about you—would the built-in dancing gimbal win you over, or would you stick with a regular phone + Pocket combo?