Well, after months of teasers and reporting, that weird ARRI x HONOR Robot Phone camera thing is now officially alive—in China at least.
The companies have issued press releases announcing that the HONOR Robot Phone is now officially available, which they celebrate as the mobile debut of ARRI Image Science and HONOR’s gimbal camera technology.
Set to be a “new species of smartphone” that integrates key elements of ARRI Image Science and carries a “co-engineered” credit, the HONOR Robot Phone is fully debuted with a range of mobile imaging, AI, and robotic camera technologies and with ARRI LogC3, ARRI Wide Gamut 3, and ARRI Looks.
Let’s check it out.
The ARRI x HONOR Robot Phone
To be honest, when it was first announced, this product confused us as it’s certainly unique. Set to basically be a smartphone with a built-in gimbal camera, or a gimbal camera with a built-in smartphone, depending on how you look at it, this is a product that is unlike any we’ve seen before.
“The HONOR Robot Phone is an important milestone in ARRI’s expansion into Content Creation. Together with HONOR, we are translating ARRI’s perspective on image quality, color, and visual storytelling into a new category. This gives more creators access to greater creative control and a stronger connection between capture and post-production.” — David Bermbach, Chief Product Officer of ARRI.
And while we’ll likely have much more to say and explore with it now that it’s officially launched and set to be available to users and reviewers, in China at least, it’s also undeniably a bold step for both companies, with ARRI’s work here being the most interesting part.
The HONOR Robot Phone Features
So, you can judge for yourself based on many demos and featurettes already put out by the company, but it’s safe to say that this new robot phone will at least try to offer some new features that haven’t been seen in this type of setup.
Its key feature, of course, is its Titanium Agile Gimbal, which is designed to support stabilized movement, subject tracking, and hands-free operation, while the ARRI technologies involved will further provide a consistent foundation for image capture and creative finishing.
The Robot Phone gimbal camera will also have some fun AI object-tracking moves, like a spinshot feature, which will allow the camera to support two modes: a 90-degree view and an 180-degree view.
Price and Availability
Again, we’ll have more to say and explore about this new robot phone as it becomes more widely available, although from the sounds of things it might not be coming to the US soon, as it could be hampered by the same issues that DJI is facing with its drones.
Still, as far as pricing goes, it looks like the HONOR Robot Phone is set to retail for 9,999 Yuan, which is just below $1,500 if it were available in the US.
You can find more info on the official launch on the company’s website here.
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