I’m a YouTuber and I Need to Try a Robot Camera Phone

Honor took the wraps off its wild-looking robot phone at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Included in this general Android phone it’s a robotic camera module that pops out, essentially turning the phone into something very similar to the DJI Osmo Pocket 4. And with cinema icon Arri on board to help guide the colors and look of photos, Honor’s phone is shaping up to be the headquarters for creators like me.

The phone is currently set to launch in China this fall but Honor has already shown it off during this year’s Cannes Film Festival — as well as a behind-the-scenes photo shoot at the Shanghai International Film Festival. But I’m still going to spend any time shooting with something and I hope that changes soon as I’m still happy with it.

Along with 15 years as a tech reporter for CNET, I’ve spent many years taking pictures in the UK and Europe, and writing a lot of work behind my photography YouTube channel. I write, record and edit everything myself. It’s a lot of fun, but sometimes it’s a big challenge to get out and about, not only with the camera I use to take my photos, but also with the additional equipment to properly capture this process for my videos.

I want my videos to look as cinematic as possible, so I don’t mind carrying multiple mirrorless camera bodies and an array of lenses and filters into the mountains to shoot them. I bought the Osmo Pocket 3 and found it revolutionized the way I work. It’s the size of my hand and means I don’t need to lug around a dedicated camera and gimbal. The Osmo gave me a way to record high-quality, stable video while walking around the city streets. Its latest replacement, the Osmo Pocket 4, ups that quality even further, while its new competitor, the Insta360 Luna Ultra packs a second lens for more creative shooting options.

But still, these gimbal-stabilized cameras are not always the ideal solution. They are so small, they require a large jacket pocket at least which means I have to decide to take them out and record them. Small screens can be used, and transferring images from them can be very time consuming.

Honor’s Robot Phone will solve many of Osmo’s current shortcomings. Replacing my current phone, it will always be in my pocket, always ready to shoot whenever the urge strikes. The camera module easily slides into the phone so it won’t be embarrassingly poking out of my pockets. Using a larger phone screen will give me a larger display to monitor my video while recording and review it afterwards. And since it’s an Android phone, I can just share the video files to Google Drive or even directly to YouTube when I’m done.

Honor also says it has been working with iconic cinema company Arri — maker of cameras like the Alexa, which has been used in many Hollywood movies. It’s a very exciting prospect, especially when the CEO of Arri commented in a press release, “Our goal is to bring the true beauty of cinema to smartphone photography – natural color, soft highlights, and a sense of depth that feels true to how stories are meant to be seen.”

It’s an affirming statement, as I’ve found many Android phone makers today, including Honor, are very heavy on image processing with their cameras, resulting in images that look over-processed and unnatural. But since Xiaomi recently worked with Leica on the Leitzphone — which I called the best camera phone I’ve ever used — I’m hoping that Arri’s cinematic heritage will help guide Honor to a product that really delivers what creators like me want.

While we’ve seen the phone appear at film festivals around the world, Honor said it will be unveiled to the public for the first time in China this fall. So I guess I’ll just have to be patient — the fairness I love the most — until then.