After capturing the AI market, OpenAI is now seemingly looking to take the competition directly to Apple and Samsung by building its own smartphone. As per analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, citing the latest supply chain checks, OpenAI’s smartphone plans are centred around an AI agent ecosystem, and the device could begin mass production as early as 2028.
What do we know about OpenAI’s smartphone plans?
As per Kuo, OpenAI is working with chipmakers MediaTek and Qualcomm to develop custom processors for its phone, with Luxshare acting as the exclusive system co-design and manufacturing partner. The final specifications and suppliers for the phone are said to be locked in by late 2026 or the first quarter of 2027.
For Luxshare, which is one of Apple’s key assemblers for iPhones and other products, partnering with OpenAI could be a massive strategic play. Kuo notes that the Chinese manufacturer has historically struggled to surpass Hon Hai Precision Industry’s dominant assembly position within Apple’s supply chain, and securing an early partnership with OpenAI gives it a rare opportunity to “become a leading beneficiary in the next smartphone generation.”
Why is OpenAI making a phone?
According to Kuo, OpenAI has realised it needs absolute control over both the operating system and the hardware to deliver a “comprehensive AI agent service.”
He notes that while the current generation of smartphones is built around apps, future AI-powered devices may change that dynamic. Kuo suggests that users may rely on AI agents to complete tasks on their behalf on the OpenAI phone instead of manually opening apps.
Kuo also points out that smartphones still remain the most important personal computing device, continuously capturing real-time user data such as location, behaviour, and usage patterns. This makes them critical for powering “real-time AI agent inference.”
“OpenAI’s advantages lie in its consumer brand, years of accumulated user data, and leading AI models. Smartphone hardware is already highly mature, so OpenAI can work with the supply chain to develop the device. On the business model side, OpenAI may bundle subscriptions with hardware and build a new AI agent ecosystem with developers,” Kuo wrote in a post on X.
How will OpenAI’s smartphone work?
Kuo notes that the ChatGPT-powered phone would rely on a mix of cloud and on-device AI features. The processor on the OpenAI smartphone is reportedly being developed with a strict focus on power consumption, memory hierarchy management, and basic small-model execution so it can continuously understand the user’s context in the background without draining the battery.
Meanwhile, more complex and compute-intensive tasks will be handled by cloud-based AI systems.
The OpenAI smartphone is said to initially target the high-end smartphone segment, which currently ships roughly 300 to 400 million units annually. Kuo notes that if the project turns out to be a success, it could trigger a massive replacement cycle across the industry, driving significant long-term growth for OpenAI’s processor partners.
Notably, a leaked memo from OpenAI had surfaced earlier this year which noted that the ChatGPT maker had shifted its focus in AI development to target Anthropic’s lead in the coding and enterprise market. The company was also said to be deprioritising “side projects,” while the company’s first hardware device with former Apple designer Jony Ive was said to be pushed back to 2027.
