Key Takeaways
- Tech firms are showcasing advanced smartphones that use artificial intelligence to perform tasks.
- Nubia unveiled its NaviX Ultra, powered by Doubao, China’s popular AI chatbot tool.
- Major apps restricted access to these AI agents, disabling some features of the phones.
Tech firms in China are racing to introduce advanced smartphones equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. These devices can perform a wide range of tasks from ordering food to composing messages through simple voice commands.
Nubia, a smartphone maker, recently unveiled its NaviX Ultra at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai. The phone is powered by Doubao, an AI chatbot tool developed by TikTok creator ByteDance. According to Nubia, this marks the beginning of a new era for AI agent smartphones.
The initial prototype of the Doubao Phone sold out quickly in December. It was designed to execute tasks across apps based on simple voice commands, such as ordering food and comparing shopping prices. However, days after its release, tech giants including Alibaba, Tencent, and JD.com restricted access to their platforms for the built-in assistant.
These restrictions effectively disabled some of the phone’s AI agent features, leading ByteDance to turn off the powerful tool in certain circumstances, particularly when payments were involved. This highlights a significant challenge: gaining broad access to apps owned by other companies is crucial for the success of AI agent devices.
Kiranjeet Kaur, an associate research director at US market intelligence firm IDC, explained that platforms want direct contact with their users to maintain control. She stated, 'Agenting is everyone’s dream, but we haven’t reached there yet,' as the performance of AI agent tools remains inconsistent.
Another manufacturer, Honour, showcased its ‘Robot Phone’ featuring an interactive camera that can interpret human gestures and take selfies. The company plans to embed an AI system using several models co-developed with Alibaba in this device when it goes on sale later this year.
Shanghai-based AI startup StepFun also unveiled the STEPX Neo, an 'AI agent-native smartphone.' According to a sponsored article in state news agency Xinhua, the company has established deep partnerships with major Chinese platforms such as Alipay and Didi. This allows the smartphone to provide one-stop support for various services including travel bookings, everyday purchases, local services, office productivity, and video editing.
Outside China, big tech companies like Google are also integrating increasingly advanced AI features into smartphones. US startup Brain Technologies launched an agentic 'Natural AI Phone.'
The development of these AI-powered devices reflects a broader trend in the tech industry where firms are striving to integrate more sophisticated AI capabilities into everyday gadgets.
'A new era of AI agent smartphones begins,' Nubia said, sharing images of the handsets online.
Nubia, Smartphone maker
'Agenting is everyone’s dream, but we haven’t reached there yet,' as the performance of AI agent tools is still often patchy, Kaur said.
Kiranjeet Kaur, Associate research director at US market intelligence firm IDC
