Gasgoo Munich- Honor is set to unveil its first humanoid robot at the upcoming Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in 2026, according to multiple media reports.
Targeted at the consumer market, the move would make Honor the first global smartphone maker to enter the humanoid robot arena. Alongside the robot, the company plans to showcase its "Robot Phone" and other innovations.
Image Credit: Honor
The 2026 Spring Festival Gala served as a panoramic showcase for China's robotics industry. A host of companies took the stage with cutting-edge products, demonstrating underlying hardware capabilities—from motion control to operational precision and coordination—across a range of scenarios.
In the smartphone sector, players like Honor, vivo, and Xiaomi are also making strategic moves into humanoid robotics.
vivo has already set up a robotics lab. Leveraging its expertise in AI large models and imaging, combined with proprietary mixed-reality computing power, the company is focused on developing the "brain" and "eyes" of future robots. Meanwhile, Xiaomi recently released its embodied intelligence VLA model, Xiaomi-Robotics-0. The model scored top marks in three major simulation benchmarks and has been open-sourced.
Notably, Honor rolled out its AI-focused Alpha strategy in March 2025. The plan involves a $10 billion investment over five years to transform into a global leader in AI terminal ecosystems. The roadmap unfolds in three stages: building smart devices, constructing a smart ecosystem, and co-creating a smart world.
Image Credit: Honor
In its 2026 New Year address, Honor highlighted its leapfrog layout in human-machine interaction for the AI era, driven by the Alpha strategy. The ROBOT PHONE—also known as the Alpha Phone Robot, which debuted in October 2025—is slated for mass production and release in 2026. The highly anticipated embodied AI robot is also set to launch soon, designed to integrate into daily work and life as a personal companion.
Furthermore, Honor plans to intensify its efforts in original, pioneering technology. By focusing on key areas and establishing the Alpha Lab, the company aims to create a hub for innovation in edge-end intelligence.
At the 2025 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit, Honor CEO Li Jian shared his latest outlook on the AI era. He described the Robot Phone as an integration of three core capabilities—an AI smartphone, embodied intelligence, and high-definition cameras—designed to create a "warm" new intelligent life form for users.
Data shows Honor's smartphone shipments surpassed 71 million units in 2025, a 9% increase. The company held its ground in the domestic market, while overseas sales surged 47%, accounting for more than 50% of the total for the first time. Shipments in Latin America and the Middle East and Africa topped 10 million, with market share exceeding 10% in 17 key countries.
