Honor is not just showing up at MWC (Mobile World Congress) this year with a new phone. The Shenzhen-based company announced on Monday it will debut its first humanoid robot at the conference on March 1, marking the brand's first entry into physical AI hardware beyond consumer devices.
MWC, the world's largest annual mobile and connectivity conference organised by the GSMA, runs from March 2 to 5 in Barcelona and draws over 90,000 industry professionals each year. Honor's launch event is scheduled a day before the show opens.
Bloomberg reports the robot is built for consumer services, with shopping assistance as the listed use case. Honor says it will be the first smartphone company to enter the humanoid segment, noting that rival Huawei, which Honor was spun off from in 2020, has been developing AI models for similar tasks but has not yet entered physical humanoid hardware.
The company posted a teaser on YouTube captioned: "We've combined cutting-edge robotics with the ultimate mobile experience." The result? Something you have to see to believe. The adventure starts on March 1st in Barcelona!"
The clip gives a first look at the robot in matte black, with a camera near the top of its head, a blue light strip running down its chest, and a visible left arm. No product name, specs, or pricing has been shared. The robot will share the stage with Honor's Robot Phone, part of what the company has branded its "AI Device Ecosystem Era" launch event.
Robotics, an IPO, and a Market Already Moving
Honor's robotics push sits inside a bigger company story. Bloomberg reports the brand, backed by the Shenzhen government's investment vehicle and multiple state-owned enterprises, is on track for a public listing. According to the China Securities Regulatory Commission, Honor is scheduled to complete its listing tutoring between January and March this year, with Citic Securities acting as its tutoring broker.
The humanoid robot is part of what Bloomberg describes as a "multibillion-dollar initiative" to expand beyond smartphones into new industries, with AI at the center. Like rivals Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo, Honor is also building agentic AI services integrated across its devices.
The broader market it is entering has already recorded significant momentum. According to research firm Omdia, the global humanoid robot market saw 500% revenue growth in 2025, with roughly 13,000 units shipped worldwide, the majority from Chinese manufacturers. Bloomberg noted that Unitree robots were featured during China's Lunar New Year gala broadcast this year. Recent IPO debuts from Chinese AI-focused companies have drawn strong investor interest from those seeking domestic alternatives to OpenAI and Anthropic, Bloomberg reported.
Ogbonda Chivumnovu
