As Apple’s latest legal battle with OpenAI complicates the Silicon Valley race to reshape the consumer tech market, one Chinese start-up is taking a leap forward after unveiling what it claims to be the world’s first agentic smartphone.
At a launch event in Shanghai on Monday, Tencent Holdings-backed StepFun introduced the StepX Neo. The device runs on Step AOS, an operating system designed specifically for artificial intelligence agents, and was launched under StepX – which the firm billed as the world’s first AI terminal brand built natively around large language models.
Unlike traditional smartphones that required users to manually open individual apps, the device was built around AI agents, according to StepFun. The device could interpret user requests, coordinate across multiple services, and execute complex tasks autonomously, the company added.
The smartphone features Amoo, a new personal AI assistant native to Step AOS.
StepFun also announced integrations with major Chinese digital services including Alipay for payments, Trip.com for travel bookings, Didi Chuxing for ride-hailing and Meituan for on-demand services, which would allow Amoo to seamlessly complete tasks across different platforms without user intervention.
The launch highlights a growing global push by AI firms to control the entire product stack, spanning foundation models, operating systems and hardware.
The race to dominate AI hardware has already sparked friction among the US tech giants. In a lawsuit filed last week, Apple accused OpenAI of recruiting its former employees and prospective candidates to steal trade secrets regarding unreleased Apple products.
China’s StepFun beats Apple and OpenAI to ‘world’s first AI phone’
