Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reports OpenAI is developing a smartphone with MediaTek, Qualcomm, and Luxshare, using AI agents instead of traditional apps.
Ming-Chi Kuo, a respected hardware analyst known for accurate Apple leaks, published a note claiming OpenAI is co-developing a smartphone with MediaTek and Qualcomm for chips, and Luxshare for co-design and manufacturing. The device would replace apps with AI agents that have unrestricted system access — bypassing Apple and Google's app store controls. Mass production is expected to start in 2028, with the device first appearing in Q-something 2027. OpenAI's Chief Global Affairs Officer previously confirmed a first hardware product announcement in H2 2026, pointing to earbuds.
If OpenAI ships a phone where AI agents replace apps, the entire mobile app architecture becomes a legacy pattern. Developers who've built on iOS/Android APIs are building for a platform that OpenAI is actively trying to obsolete. The on-device + cloud hybrid model Kuo describes also signals a shift in how AI inference is distributed — small models handling local context, cloud models handling heavy tasks — which changes how you architect latency-sensitive AI features.
This week, prototype one user flow in your app as a pure agent interaction — no UI buttons, no screens — using the OpenAI Assistants API with function calling. Measure if the output is actually usable. If it is, you have a head start on the agent-native paradigm.
Go to platform.openai.com and open the Assistants playground
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