TL;DR China’s smartphone supply chain is pivoting to humanoid robot manufacturing, with companies like Lingyi iTech, Lens Technology, and AAC Technologies repurposing precision component factories for robotics production. Morgan Stanley doubled its 2026 forecast to 28,000 units as Foxconn prepares robot manufacturing lines in Vietnam and UBTech’s Walker S2 enters mass production with orders exceeding 800 million yuan. In April, a humanoid robot called the Honor D1 completed the Beijing half-marathon in 48 minutes and 19 seconds under remote control and 50 minutes and 26 seconds in fully autonomous mode, beating every other robot in the 112-team field. The machine that won the race was built using liquid-cooling technology originally developed for Honor’s smartphone division, with structural components supplied by Lens Technology and AAC Technologies, two of the largest precision parts manufacturers in China’s mobile phone supply chain.…