Report says OpenAI may be working on a phone that uses AI agents

In short: A widely followed hardware analyst says OpenAI may be developing a smartphone where AI agents do tasks that people usually use apps for.

What happened

TechCrunch reports that analyst Ming Chi Kuo shared a note suggesting OpenAI could be working on a phone with partners including MediaTek, Qualcomm, and Luxshare. Kuo says the companies may co-develop a smartphone chip, and Luxshare could help design and manufacture the device.

The note suggests the phone might rely less on traditional apps and more on “AI agents.” An AI agent is like a digital assistant that can carry out a job for you, such as booking something or sending a message, instead of you opening a separate app for each task.

Kuo also says the phone could be built to understand a user’s “context” continuously, meaning what you are doing and what you might need next. He adds that the device may use a mix of AI that runs on the phone and AI that runs in the cloud (remote computers, like using a powerful computer over the internet).

According to the analyst, the phone’s final parts and suppliers could be set by the end of this year or early 2027. Mass production could start in 2028.

OpenAI did not comment, TechCrunch said. Separately, an OpenAI executive has said the company is on track to announce its first hardware product in the second half of 2026, and earlier reports suggested that first device could be earbuds.

Why it matters

If OpenAI builds its own phone, it could control more of how AI works day to day, instead of fitting inside Apple’s or Google’s app rules. For regular people, that could mean doing more by simply asking, rather than tapping through many apps.

Source: TechCrunch AI