If you\u2019ve been sitting at the edge of your seat waiting for OpenAI\u2019s world-changing AI device(s), you may want to scooch back on your chair.<\/p>\n
According<\/a> to TF Securities International analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the company behind ChatGPT is developing a smartphone. Yes, a smartphone. But it reportedly won\u2019t be just any old glass slab\u2014it\u2019ll be an \u201cAI agent phone.\u201d\u00a0An AI AGENT PHONE.<\/p>\n What the hell is an AI agent phone? Allow me to explain: it\u2019s a phone that uses an AI \u201cagent\u201d to perform tasks on your behalf. Instead of a grid of apps on your home screen that you tap to open, and then tap and swipe and tap some more, you\u2019d simply tell an AI agent to do something, and then it\u2019d do it for you.<\/p>\n \u201cUsers are not trying to use a pile of apps,\u201d Kuo posted on X. \u201cThey are trying to get tasks done and fulfill needs through the phone. This fundamentally changes how people think about smartphones.\u201d<\/p>\n Kuo, known for his sources buried deep within the manufacturing supply chain, claims OpenAI is working with Qualcomm and MediaTek to create processors for the phone. His report is newsworthy because of his track record in accurately sharing information on product roadmaps long before they\u2019re officially announced.<\/p>\n While OpenAI is actively developing<\/a> a family of AI gadgets\u2014which could include a pin or a pen<\/a> or a pair of wireless earbuds<\/a>\u2014this is the first time that we\u2019re hearing about a phone. The news isn\u2019t surprising at all.<\/p>\n \u201cOnly by fully controlling both the operating system and hardware can OpenAI deliver a comprehensive AI agent service,\u201d writes Kuo.<\/p>\n Ask any analyst or AI expert and they\u2019ll tell you the same: an AI device is only as intelligent as the information that it knows about you. Without deep, system-level permissions, an AI\u2019s usefulness will always be at the mercy of the operator, which is the device maker.<\/p>\n It\u2019s this same reason why Humane\u2019s failed Ai Pin<\/a> could not just be an accessory to existing phones or just an app. Humane knew what everyone is now realizing: you need to control\u00a0everything from the hardware to the software if you want to put an AI in the driver\u2019s seat.<\/p>\n This is also why, despite fumbling its more intelligent Siri<\/a> for two years, Apple could come out of the whole disaster ahead of the pack. With over 1.5 billion active iPhones in use, it would take only a single update to push out \u201cagentic\u201d AI features to a large number of devices. With one software update, hundreds of millions of iPhones would suddenly become \u201cAI agent phones.\u201d That\u2019s assuming Apple sorts out all of the issues and the new Siri actually works the way it was advertised nearly two WWDCs<\/a> ago.<\/p>\n \u201cThe smartphone is just the perfect product,\u201d Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach tells Gizmodo. \u201cYou need all of your data in one place that\u2019s easy to access for any AI. You don\u2019t want to connect all of your apps and services to a cloud host, so you need default apps (Apple mail has all of your emails, after all)\u2026 a display to show content, cameras to take in visuals\u2026 smartphones are perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n Every phone maker is remaking their phones into \u201cAI agent phones.\u201d Google\u2019s Pixel 10 series<\/a> started the slow transformation with features like \u201cMagic Cue\u201d that help anticipate tasks by showing pertinent information between certain Google apps. Samsung\u2019s Galaxy S26 phones<\/a> have an \u201cAutomated app action\u201d feature that lets you hail an Uber with a voice command; the phone uses onboard AI to open the app and then tap through the various screens until it reaches the payment confirmation. In China, the Duobao Phone<\/a> has already delivered on this dream thanks to the country\u2019s more open (and less private, by design) apps.<\/p>\n