While contemporary phones are constantly pushing the envelope of their physical form with foldable screens, they are also expanding their virtual capabilities through AI. Alongside traditional mobile phone manufacturers, AI companies are also setting their sights on AI phones. This prompts a crucial question: Is the essence of AI phones found within the phone itself or within AI?

To address this query, we must first examine the nature of phones. We understand that phones were developed to enhance interpersonal connections and consolidate various facets of daily life, such as food, clothing, shelter, and transportation, into a single device. In the era of voice communication, phones served as carriers of voice and messaging functions; in the internet age, they became vessels for internet access and applications. With the advent of the AI era, for phones to fulfill their intended roles, they must incorporate AI capabilities.

Hence, as more entities venture into the AI phone domain, especially when AI becomes a ubiquitous feature in phones, we must ponder: What is the defining characteristic of AI phones? The answer is straightforward. The essence of so-called AI phones lies in AI.

AI Revolutionizes Phones from Within

With the proliferation of AI applications, particularly as intelligent agents permeate various industries and scenarios, one might assume that AI phones merely load the device with numerous AI applications, treating the phone as a mere conduit for AI apps. While this viewpoint holds some merit, defining AI phones solely in this manner overlooks their profound depth and significance.

In my perspective, AI phones do not merely enhance application intelligence; they also embody the intelligence of phone hardware. Only by genuinely integrating AI into both software and hardware can we achieve a true AI phone. The AI chips introduced by certain phone manufacturers and the incorporation of AI applications into phones by AI companies are direct manifestations of this trend.

An AI phone is not just about affixing an AI label to the device; it's about leveraging AI to fundamentally transform it from the inside out. When both software and hardware are infused with AI and seamlessly integrated, meeting people's needs in the AI era and serving as a gateway to the AI world, such AI phones will genuinely resonate with consumers.

This insight also underscores a crucial point: when developing AI phones, we must not focus solely on software or hardware independently. Instead, we must consider both, achieving a deep fusion of AI software and AI hardware. Only through such integration can the functionality of AI phones be significantly enhanced to meet the new demands of users in the AI era.

AI Phones Bridge the Gap to the AI World

The functions and applications of phones have evolved across different eras. In the pre-internet era, phones primarily facilitated voice communication; in the internet era, they enabled internet access. In the AI era, phones serve as conduits to the AI world. AI phones act as windows, ushering people into an AI-driven realm.

Therefore, the crux of AI phones still lies in AI. However, it's essential to note that, unlike the pre-AI era, when phones typically connected to virtual worlds—whether for voice calls or internet access—they were linking people to a virtual domain. With the advent of the AI era, especially as AI begins to profoundly transform both digital and physical industries, AI phones now facilitate connections not only to the virtual world but also to the physical world.

The AI world connected by AI phones dictates that their essence lies in AI. At this juncture, AI phones must not only connect to virtual AI products like large language models, intelligent agents, office platforms, and AI tools but also to physical AI products like embodied intelligence, intelligent connected vehicles, and smart home devices. For AI phones, only by genuinely assuming the role of connecting virtual and physical AI can they truly guide people into the AI world.

From this vantage point, the phone is merely a form or a representation; its true essence still resides in AI. Only by making AI the foundation of AI phones and establishing a seamless connection with the digital and physical worlds can AI phones truly serve as a bridge for people to enter the AI world.

AI is the Internal Catalyst for AI Phones

The ongoing evolution of AI phones is not propelled by the phones themselves but by AI. This phenomenon dictates that the crux of AI phones lies in AI, not the phone. Why is this the case? The reason is that the internal driving force behind AI phones emanates from AI, not the phone. The enhancement of phone photography capabilities through AI and the performance improvements brought about by AI algorithms all stem from the internal impetus generated by AI's transformation of phones.

Unlike previous technological advancements that externally enhanced phone functions, the current evolution of AI phones is internally driven by AI. Through this internal catalyst, phones undergo changes not only in their software and hardware but also in the commercial landscape they inhabit.

With AI phones, related business scenarios and industries will also experience profound transformations. The functions and roles carried by AI in this new phase of phone evolution reveal that so-called AI phones do not merely integrate AI-related applications and hardware into the device but leverage AI to achieve a deep and comprehensive transformation from the phone itself to the industries and scenarios it encompasses.

Only by utilizing AI to imbue phones with greater significance and definition, particularly by discerning their value in the AI era, can phones continue to evolve, surmount current limitations, and forge a new path forward. From this perspective, employing AI as the internal catalyst to drive the evolution of AI phones is the key to ensuring their genuine advancement.

In Conclusion

AI is ushering in profound changes to phones from the inside out. This is evident not only in the expansion of phones' physical boundaries but also in the enhancement of their internal functions through AI. In either form, the crux of AI phones does not reside in the phone itself but in AI. When we uncover the new significance of AI for phones and when AI genuinely revitalizes phones, AI phones can truly become indispensable companions for people in the AI era. Abandoning the notion of viewing phones as the confines of AI and genuinely utilizing phones to enrich people's lives in the AI era is the pivotal topic that AI phone players must contemplate.