ZTE’s smartphone brand Nubia is preparing to launch the NaviX Ultra on September 16, a device it markets as the world’s first mass-produced artificial intelligence (AI)-agent smartphone. The release marks a significant development in China’s commercial adoption of on-device AI technology.

The NaviX Ultra integrates ByteDance’s Doubao AI Phone Assistant at the system level, differentiating itself from earlier AI-enabled phones that typically incorporated AI features as separate applications. Instead, the phone itself functions as an intelligent assistant, accessible via voice commands or a dedicated physical button.

Ni Fei, president of ZTE’s terminal business division, explained that this approach enables the device to understand natural language, carry out tasks across multiple apps, remember user preferences, and maintain security protections. The phone’s system-level Graphical User Interface (GUI) agent can interpret on-screen content and simulate human-like interactions such as taps and swipes, allowing users to complete multi-step tasks—for example, comparing prices, filling order forms, and processing payments—without manually switching between apps.

The NaviX Ultra received network access approval from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on September 1, finalizing its compliance process, which included large language model registration and terminal certification. Importantly, all core AI computations occur on the device itself, avoiding the need to upload user data to the cloud and thereby reducing potential privacy risks, according to Nubia.

This new model builds on insights gained from an earlier limited-edition prototype, the Nubia M153, which launched in December and quickly sold out, fetching high prices on secondary markets. However, the M153’s method of simulating human touchscreen inputs led to blocking by major application platforms. In response, Nubia and ByteDance have adopted standardized protocols—Model Context Protocol (MCP) and Application-to-Application (A2A)—requiring partner apps to voluntarily provide data and operational access before integration with the Doubao assistant.

More than ten platforms are currently integrated with the NaviX Ultra, including Douyin, Luckin Coffee, Qunar, Meituan, and Didi. Lin Keyu, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research, described 2026 as potentially “the first year of the agent smartphone,” highlighting the innovation’s significance.

The launch arrives amid a challenging global smartphone market outlook. Industry data firm IDC projects a 13.9 percent year-on-year decline in worldwide smartphone shipments in 2026 due to factors like memory shortages. Nevertheless, AI capability is expected to become a key differentiator, with IDC forecasting that AI-enabled phones will comprise 53 percent of China’s smartphone market by next year, totaling 147 million units shipped.

Research from CTTIC Securities also emphasizes the growing importance of AI agents as a core application scenario, noting that their widespread deployment on consumer devices could prompt a broad reassessment of the consumer electronics supply chain.