"OpenAI Developing AI Smartphone Without Apps"

There are reports that OpenAI is developing a smartphone without applications (apps) as part of its efforts to create a new artificial intelligence (AI) assistant (agent) ecosystem.

Image related to smartphones under development by OpenAI. Screenshot of Ming-Chi Kuo, TF International Securities analyst, from X.

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On April 29, Guo Mingqi, an analyst at TF International Securities in Taiwan, stated in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that OpenAI is developing smartphone chips in collaboration with semiconductor design companies MediaTek and Qualcomm. He added that Luxshare, Apple's iPhone manufacturer, is also participating as a co-designer and manufacturing partner for the system. Guo further predicted that OpenAI would finalize the device specifications and suppliers by the end of this year or the first quarter of next year, with mass production expected to begin in 2028.

The reason OpenAI is entering smartphone development is that smartphones can know users' real-time status, providing critical input data for delivering personalized AI agent services. Guo explained, "To provide AI agent services, it is necessary to control both the operating system (OS) and the hardware."

OpenAI's smartphone is expected to center around the AI agent instead of apps. The device will likely be designed with an interface (smartphone user environment) in which the agent can perform users' tasks on their behalf. Should OpenAI's smartphone be released, it would represent a departure from the current app store-centric model. Until now, users have downloaded required apps from app stores and accessed them via icons displayed on the home screen, often needing to switch between multiple apps to complete a single task.

Guo particularly noted that "OpenAI is developing the device by combining cloud and on-device capabilities so that the AI agent can handle various types of tasks." On the smartphone, a lightweight AI model would process tasks based on user context, while more complex or intensive tasks would be handled by cloud AI. This approach aims to address challenges in current mobile operating systems, where real-time contextual understanding by AI leads to high power consumption and difficulties in managing the memory hierarchy.

If OpenAI enters the market, it will be positioned against Apple and Samsung, which are also focusing on integrating AI features into smartphones. Apple and Samsung together account for about 40% of the global smartphone market share. Apple is currently developing a personalized Siri capable of understanding user context and performing tasks across apps, and is expected to unveil its next-generation generative AI-based Siri at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June. Samsung, for its part, launched the Galaxy S26 this year, with AI integrated throughout the operating system. This is the third generation of AI phones following the debut of its first AI phone, the Galaxy S24, in 2024.

Meanwhile, OpenAI has been researching consumer AI devices for several years. In May last year, it acquired the AI hardware startup 'IO', founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive, for $6.5 billion, recruiting Ive to lead its design initiatives. At the time, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated, "The meaning of technology use could fundamentally change," adding, "I hope to deliver the joy, wonder, and creative spirit I felt when I first used an Apple computer 30 years ago."

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