Technologies

Honor’s Audacious Robot Phone Is Real and I Just Got a First Glimpse

Forget foldables, this might just be the most unconventional phone design I’ve seen in years.

When Honor first announced its quirky Robot Phone back in October, I said I would have to see it and hold it to believe it’s real. Three months later, I’m halfway there at least.

At CES 2026 I got a first glimpse of a prototype of the phone with its pop-out DJI Osmo-like camera and gimbal. Given that part of the body of the phone is given over to housing these elements when they’re folded away, it’s understandably not among the cohort of ultra-thin devices we’ve seen over the past year or so.

I wasn’t allowed to touch or manipulate the phone or its arm, but I watched as a member of Honor’s team moved the camera between different positions. It was interesting to see how neatly the arm packed away, leaving the black phone looking, at a glance, almost like any other generic device with a particularly expansive camera module. But I can’t deny that I’m still keen to get my hands on it to see how well the robotic element of the phone actually operates.

Fortunately, I don’t have long to wait. At Mobile World Congress, which takes place in Barcelona in March, Honor will allow me to touch and hold the phone. At that point, the robotic arm will be working, so it won’t have to be manually adjusted. We know frustratingly little else about the phone at this stage beyond its design, but its full specs will also be announced at MWC.

When it finally launches, the Robot Phone is likely to be something of a niche product that appeals mainly to content creators. But it will also inject a much-needed dose of design daring into an industry that has struggled to show much imagination over the past decade.

Tech journalists, myself included, are guilty of complaining about the homogenous designs of most smartphones, while urging companies to take more risks and give us something to really get excited about. The introduction of foldable phones has been a breath of fresh air, but the Robot Phone is a next-level example of thinking beyond the conventional boundaries of phone design.

I, for one, can’t wait to see — and hold — more.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Jan. 8 #676

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Jan. 8, No. 676.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle was almost impossible for me, because it’s all focused on a certain TV show that I have never watched and barely know anything about. (Its fourth season premieres today, if you want to check it out.) If you’re like me, you need hints and answers, so read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: That’s just reality (TV)

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Show with plenty of trickery.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

SIDE, HIDE, START, TART, FAITH, TENS, BANS, FATE, SILT, CAST, TRAIT

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

CASTLE, SHIELD, MISSION, FAITHFUL, BANISHMENT

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is THETRAITORS. To find it, start with the T that’s three letters down on the far-left row, and wind across and then down.

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Jan. 8, #472

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Jan. 8, No. 472.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition was a bit of a stumper, though if you recognize famous-athlete names, you might get the purple category right away. And you might have never heard of the blue category topic. (That link is a big spoiler.) If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Sports in our nation’s capital.

Green group hint: Got any Band-Aids?

Blue group hint: Certain basketball league.

Purple group hint: Same first name.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: A DC athlete.

Green group: Supplies for an athletic trainer.

Blue group: Unrivaled teams.

Purple group: Jerry ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is a DC athlete. The four answers are Capital, Commander, Mystic and Wizard.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is supplies for an athletic trainer. The four answers are bandages, ice pack, scissors and tape.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is Unrivaled teams. The four answers are Breeze, Laces, Phantom and Vinyl.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is Jerry ____. The four answers are Lucas, Rice, Stackhouse and West.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, Jan. 8

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Jan. 8.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? I found 6-Across to be especially tricky. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.