Chinese smartphone manufacturer Honor will present its inaugural humanoid robot at the MWC Barcelona technology conference this weekend.

The company, based in Shenzhen, stated that the robot is intended for consumer service scenarios, including shopping assistance.

Honor has indicated its intention to become the first within its immediate industry group to introduce a product in the humanoid segment, as its rivals also advance AI development for similar purposes.

Alongside the humanoid robot launch, Honor will display its latest AI capabilities under the name ‘Honor Robot Phone’.

The company recently set out a multibillion-dollar plan to expand into new business sectors with a concentration on AI and innovative uses of the technology.

Similar to other Chinese smartphone companies such as Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo, Honor is developing proprietary agentic AI services to integrate into its smartphones and related products.

Honor separated from Huawei Technologies in 2020 and now operates independently.

The company is backed by Shenzhen’s government investment entity, together with several state-owned enterprises.

While Honor has confirmed preparations for an initial public offering, it has yet to provide a definitive schedule.

Industry analysts have reported strong growth in China’s humanoid robotics sector.

The adoption of advanced AI, which enhances robots’ ability to execute complex tasks, is encouraging their use across industries, including manufacturing, logistics, healthcare and customer service.

Robotics developers are investing heavily in further AI advancements to support this trend.

Chinese manufacturers also offer lower-priced models compared with their Western competitors; for example, Unitree sells an entry-level humanoid for about $6,000 and AgiBot offers a basic version at around $14,000.

By contrast, Tesla’s planned Optimus robot has been quoted by CEO Elon Musk as costing between $20,000 and $30,000 but remains unavailable for full-scale commercial release.