Greater Bay Area smartphone maker Honor will unveil its first humanoid service robot at this week’s MWC Barcelona, according to multiple media reports, marking the company’s formal entry into the rapidly expanding embodied artificial intelligence sector.
The Shenzhen-based firm said the robot, designed for consumer-facing tasks such as shopping assistance, will debut during a keynote on 1 March, ahead of the official opening of the Barcelona tech conference.
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Honor’s plan to showcase a humanoid robot at MWC Barcelona has been reported by The Business Times, which said the company will present the machine alongside what it calls its “Robot Phone” concept – part of a broader push to integrate artificial intelligence across devices.
Honor, which became independent from Huawei Technologies in 2020, has been expanding beyond smartphones as growth in the global handset market slows. The company has launched a multibillion-US dollar initiative focused on AI and emerging industries and has previously said it is preparing for a public listing, though no timetable has been disclosed.
Additional tech media reports describing teaser materials suggest the humanoid robot features a full bipedal form, a glass-covered faceplate and forward-facing sensors or cameras. Some previews also reference LED elements embedded in the head area, indicating environmental sensing and navigation capabilities.
Honor has framed the launch as part of a wider ecosystem strategy. Industry observers say the “Robot Phone” concept could serve as a control hub or AI interface, signalling ambitions that extend beyond a standalone hardware product.
The announcement comes as Chinese companies intensify efforts to embed AI into physical machines. Robotics startup Unitree has drawn attention for its agile humanoid models, featured on high-profile performances during China’s Lunar New Year gala broadcast.
Meanwhile, domestic rivals Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo are developing agentic AI services for smartphones and connected devices, though none has formally launched a comparable humanoid product.
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Investor interest in China’s AI ecosystem has also grown around companies such as Zhipu, seen as a domestic alternative to Western firms, including OpenAI and Anthropic.
Honor is expected to provide further details on the robot’s specifications and potential commercial plans at its Barcelona event.
