OpenAI Reportedly Plans AI-First Smartphone Built Around Agents

OpenAI may be looking beyond the chatbot window and straight into the phone in your pocket.

The company is reportedly exploring a new kind of smartphone built around AI agents rather than traditional apps, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. If accurate, the device would mark a major push to reshape how users book services, send messages, manage schedules, and complete everyday tasks on mobile devices.

“Users are not trying to use a pile of apps,” Kuo wrote in a post on X. “They are trying to get tasks done and fulfill needs through the phone. This fundamentally changes how people think about smartphones.”

According to Kuo’s supply chain checks, OpenAI could be working with major chipmakers Qualcomm and MediaTek to develop custom smartphone processors. Meanwhile, Luxshare Precision Industry is expected to act as the exclusive co-design and manufacturing partner.

Both Qualcomm and MediaTek already power a large share of the global smartphone market, lending credibility to the report, even though neither company has officially confirmed the project.

How an AI-first phone might work

The proposed device would rely on a mix of on-device AI and cloud computing. Simpler tasks, such as understanding user context or handling basic requests, would run directly on the phone. More complex processes would be handled in the cloud.

Kuo suggests the phone would continuously understand a user’s “real-time state,” including activity, location, and behavior. This constant awareness could enable AI agents to act proactively rather than wait for commands.

Reports indicate that OpenAI sees hardware as the next step in delivering a full AI experience. By controlling both the software and the device itself, the company could remove restrictions typically imposed by existing mobile platforms.

Today, companies like Apple and Google control app ecosystems and system-level access. Building its own phone could allow OpenAI to design an experience where AI operates across the entire system without limitations. There’s also a scale advantage. Smartphones remain the most widely used personal devices globally, making them a powerful platform for AI deployment.

Timeline and other hardware plans

The timeline, if the reports hold, is still years away. Kuo says specifications and suppliers could be finalized by late 2026 or early 2027, with mass production targeted for 2028. That puts the phone behind OpenAI’s other hardware efforts. 

The company has previously been linked to AI-focused devices, including rumored earbuds and projects involving former Apple designer Jony Ive.

OpenAI’s Chief Global Affairs Officer has also indicated that the company plans to announce its first hardware product in the second half of 2026, though details remain unclear.

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