The Robot Phone may be the product that has put Honor CEO James Li under the most pressure since he took office.
At the August 12 launch event, the camera module on the back of Honor’s Robot Phone slowly rose from the device and moved to the music. It locked onto a subject and turned as the person moved, resembling a small robot head emerging from the phone. Honor had turned a normally fixed smartphone camera into a moving module.
Starting at RMB 9,999 (USD 1,482.2) the Robot Phone is the first new form factor launched under the Honor Alpha Plan. It is both a premium flagship pushing into the RMB 10,000 price tier and a showcase for Honor’s vision of the artificial intelligence phone.
In a smartphone market that has offered few major changes in form factor, the product stands out. But developing it involved repeated setbacks.
Over the past year, memory costs have risen while the global smartphone market has contracted by more than 10%. Accordingly, Honor was also looking for a second growth engine, a major new product, and a stronger position in the market.
