- OpenAI is reportedly developing a smartphone chipset, which teases the possibility of a full-blown OpenAI-powered smartphone
- If it comes to fruition, it probably won't launch before 2028
- This chipset (or phone) could reduce the focus on apps and instead give you access to an agentic AI
Claims that OpenAI is working on some consumer hardware are nothing new, but previously, it was thought that this hardware wouldn’t be a phone, but possibly smart glasses, a digital voice recorder, a wearable pin, or a smart speaker instead. Now, though, it seems OpenAI might be working on a mobile device after all — or at the very least, a mobile chipset.
According to Ming-Chi Kuo — an analyst with a good track record — OpenAI is working with MediaTek and Qualcomm (and with Luxshare as a system co-design and manufacturing partner) to develop smartphone chipsets. Kuo supposes that this could lead to the development of a full-blown, OpenAI-designed smartphone.
However, even if it does come to fruition, we might not see this phone for a while, as OpenAI's chipsets reportedly won’t be mass-produced until 2028.
The end of apps?
As far-fetched as this rumor sounds, an OpenAI-powered phone could completely change the smartphone landscape, with a reliance on apps replaced by an agentic AI that can do things for you.
In other words, this phone probably wouldn’t run Android, but rather an operating system of OpenAI’s own design that puts AI at the forefront. That could give it an advantage over the best iPhones and best Android phones, where AI is an addition rather than the focus.
On the other hand, breaking into the smartphone market with a new operating system doesn’t sound easy, particularly when the world is so used to how phones work now. So, whether an OpenAI phone could become a mainstream device or end up as something niche remains to be seen.
There are also questions around cost and capabilities that we don’t have even speculative answers to yet, though Kuo suggests that OpenAI might bundle ChatGPT subscriptions with the phone, if it does come to pass.
So, would you buy a phone that largely replaces apps with an AI agent that can carry out tasks on your behalf? Let us know in our poll below.
Personally, I have mixed feelings about AI, but the prospect of redesigning the whole concept of a smartphone is certainly an intriguing one, so at the very least, I’ll be interested to see how this turns out — assuming it ever sees the light of day.
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