Carl Pei Believes Smartphones Will Be the Primary AI Devices for Consumers
The ever-growing trend of artificial intelligence has seen most tech companies embrace it. In the smartphone space, too, AI has become a buzzword over the years, and we’ve seen many manufacturers investing heavily in it.
Moreover, we saw a new genre of devices emerging from players like Humane and Rabbit, aimed at using conversational AI to reduce people’s reliance on smartphones. The Nothing Chief, however, has a different take on those devices. In a post shared on X, he says, “I still think that smartphones are gonna be the main form factor when it comes to AI-first hardware because people love their phones.”
That said, Carl feels that the user experience provided by smartphones hasn’t seen many advancements for a long time. While everything’s gotten “faster, more beautiful, and more fluid,” the fundamental experience hasn’t undergone any changes. This is where AI could bring change to the next era of smartphones.
How Nothing Plans To Incorporate AI into Its Smartphones
According to Carl, we’re entering a “post-app world” where there will be no apps, but rather the operating system will integrate all the services to make things easier. However, he feels it’s not going to happen anytime soon as people love their favorite apps, and no one would be interested in buying a phone with no apps. The challenge is to “build a bridge from today’s app-based user experience to tomorrow’s post-app world.”
Besides, Carl also compares Nothing to Nintendo, stating that similar to how Nintendo wants to create fun and human experiences, Nothing also intends to make tech fun “again.” It has been doing so through its product designs so far, and now, AI will join hands to make the experience more fun and personalized. The video he shared showcases the prototypes of what Nothing is working on, deeply integrating AI into Nothing OS.
First, the video shows a highly personalized home screen on a smartphone, displaying content tailored for the user. The home screen, in addition to the app launcher, retrieves and displays important data such as weather, QR codes for tickets, and other relevant information. Carl’s idea is a future where the phone can access all the important information it needs to provide a seamless and smart experience.
Later, a “highly personalized companion” is showcased, essentially an AI voice assistant built into Nothing OS, that will tailor itself for the users based on its interactions with them. It’s not as unique as Nothing’s other plans, as we can imagine most smartphone brands offering a similar voice assistant soon.
No Nothing Phone 3 This Year?
It’s unclear whether Carl means the Nothing Phone 3 will arrive next year, or if the company will add AI capabilities to it then. Considering July is just a month away, we’ll soon know if the Nothing Phone 3 is coming.
Nothing always tries to make its product designs stand out from its competitors in a saturated market, which has worked well for the brand. And now, with a slightly different approach towards AI, it will be interesting to see what the upcoming Nothing Phone 3 brings to the table.
