Chinese smartphone manufacturer with new foothold in humanoid robotics
Headquarters
Shenzhen
Employee
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Models here
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HONOR Device Co. was founded in 2013 as a sub-brand of Huawei and has been an independent company headquartered in Shenzhen since 2020. Known as a manufacturer of smartphones, tablets and wearables, HONOR made its debut with its first humanoid robot at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in March 2026.
HONOR's first humanoid was presented on stage at MWC 2026 with dance performances, including moonwalk and backflips. The robot, named Lightning, is designed for three areas of application: shopping assistance, workplace inspection and accompaniment. In April 2026, Lightning won the first humanoid half-marathon in Beijing with a time of 50 minutes and 26 seconds.
HONOR's entry into robotics underscores the trend of Chinese consumer electronics companies expanding their portfolio to include physical AI hardware. The company has announced plans to invest 10 billion US dollars in AI devices over five years. The robotics division is still in an early phase; commercial availability of the humanoid has not been publicly announced.
Lightning
Humanoid · Sport & Service
Founded as a Huawei sub-brand in Shenzhen.
Spin-off: HONOR becomes an independent company.
Presentation of the first humanoid Lightning at MWC Barcelona.
Currently, products are available in Switzerland through international resellers. No official Swiss distributor is listed.