AI‑agent smartphones debut at Shanghai AI conference amid platform access hurdles

At the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, three Chinese firms unveiled smartphones that embed AI agents capable of handling tasks such as ordering food and composing messages via voice. Nubia presented the NaviX Ultra powered by ByteDance’s Doubao chatbot, Honor showed a “Robot Phone” with a gesture‑responsive camera arm, and StepFun introduced the STEPX Neo with integrated services from Alipay and Didi. Early trials of similar devices have run into resistance from major app platforms like Alibaba, Tencent and JD.com, which limited the assistants’ access and forced developers to curb functionality. Analysts say the technology could reshape the digital economy, but widespread adoption remains uncertain as platform owners guard user contact.