Honor has opened pre-orders in China for its Robot Phone, a smartphone distinguished by a titanium, motorised pop-up camera gimbal that can rotate through 360 degrees and physically move to frame shots. The feature is intended to improve mobile photography and video, with subject tracking, gesture control and cinematic modes, while its animated movements give the device an intentionally characterful appearance.

The rear camera system has two 200-megapixel sensors, comprising main and telephoto lenses, and Honor’s partnership with cinema-camera maker Arri adds tools such as AI noise reduction, wider dynamic range and RAW output. The handset also includes a Snapdragon Elite Gen 5 chip, 7,060mAh battery and 6.3-inch OLED display; Chinese sales start on 18 August, priced at roughly $1,480 for 12GB RAM/512GB storage and $2,075 for 16GB/1TB.