Establishing a novel interaction paradigm centered on "tasks" and oriented towards "results".

Over the past two years, AI has emerged as a pivotal feature at every smartphone launch, with major brands highlighting their systems' integration of AI and Agent functionalities. Yet, most of these enhancements are confined to the software realm, with few smartphones genuinely designed with AI Agents in mind at the hardware level.

STEPX aspires to be the trailblazer in meeting this challenge.

On October 13, 2026, STEPX hosted its Ready Builder One launch event in Shanghai, officially introducing its inaugural AI Agent smartphone, the STEPX Neo. Lei Technology was present at the event as invited media.

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The Pioneering Smartphone Featuring an Agent on the Home Screen

Let's provide a brief overview of this device: The STEPX Neo is powered by the 5th Gen Snapdragon 8 mobile platform, boasting a 6.36-inch 120Hz 1.5K OLED display, and a dual-camera system with a 50MP primary lens and an 8MP ultra-wide lens, eschewing the dedicated telephoto camera typically found in flagship models. In terms of battery life, the STEPX Neo keeps pace with mainstream smartphones, offering a 6260mAh battery with 80W fast charging.

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On paper, the specifications of the STEPX Neo do not position it as a flagship or all-encompassing smartphone for 2026. What's intriguing, however, is its storage configuration. While most brands offer four distinct storage options, the STEPX Neo is available in only one version: 16+256GB. From Lei Technology's perspective, offering solely a 256GB version is a cost-effective strategy. On the flip side, this also underscores that the STEPX Neo's focus extends beyond mere hardware.

Beyond these fundamental specifications, the STEPX Neo, as a developer-centric smartphone tailored for the AI Agent era, incorporates two distinctive hardware elements:

Firstly, the STEPX Neo features a MiniLED pixel back display that indicates the current execution status of the AI Agent through icons on the phone's rear, enabling users to swiftly grasp the AI Agent's tasks without unlocking the device.

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Secondly, the STEPX Neo utilizes a six-microphone array specifically engineered for AI voice interaction, coupled with a dedicated low-power audio perception chip and the Whisper 1.0 voice recognition algorithm. This makes perfect sense, as most current AI Agent interactions are voice-driven, whereas traditional smartphone microphones are primarily designed for call noise reduction rather than omnidirectional voice perception.

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At the event, Lei Technology conducted a brief test of the STEPX Neo's audio pickup: Despite the noisy environment, the STEPX Neo accurately captured voice commands, even discerning quiet speech with clarity, delivering an experience akin to wearing headphones.

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On the software front, the STEPX Neo operates on Step AOS 1.0. Unlike conventional smartphones, Step AOS 1.0 features a bold design: The initial screen you encounter after unlocking is not the home screen but the AI-powered first screen managed by Amoo. Swiping left reveals the traditional Android home screen.

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Since Step AOS 1.0 integrates numerous domestic Agent services, users can simply articulate their needs to the main Agent (Amoo) on the AI screen, and Amoo will comprehend, dissect the task, and coordinate with external agents to fulfill the instructions.

Lei Technology put this to the test in advance and discovered that whether it's simple tasks like ordering a ride or food delivery, or complex tasks like creating a PPT or editing a vlog, the Amoo Agent can manage them with a single voice command. Currently, Amoo has integrated with popular domestic internet Agent services such as Alipay, Tencent, Ctrip, Didi, CapCut, AutoNavi, and Meituan, with plans to extend AI capabilities to more domains in the future.

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The initial version of the STEPX Neo is priced at 3999 Yuan, with pre-orders commencing at 21:00 on October 13 and official sales beginning at 10:13 on October 16. Given the backdrop of escalating prices, even from a hardware standpoint, the STEPX Neo is competitively priced. However, STEPX believes that merely selling an AI smartphone is insufficient to genuinely propel the development of AI Agent hardware.

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Thus, the pricing of the STEPX Neo is actually a "comprehensive" package: 3999 Yuan encompasses not only the STEPX Neo smartphone but also a one-year subscription to AI services with up to 10 billion Tokens per month. Only by furnishing users with hardware, software, and computing power can they cultivate richer Skills and collectively construct the AI Agent ecosystem.

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The Operating Logic of Smartphones Should Evolve in the AI Era

Although Lei Technology only conducted a brief test of the STEPX Neo, after attending the entire launch event, we highly commend STEPX's approach of optimizing hardware for AI Agents.

In the past, there have been so-called native AI hardware products, such as AI Pin or Rabbit R1. However, these devices primarily subtracted unnecessary features from a complete Android device for the AI Agent era, rather than incorporating capabilities more essential in this new era.

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While this subtractive approach effectively streamlines product design, it significantly compromises versatility, transforming these AI hardware devices into niche cyber fashion accessories that swiftly accumulate dust.

In contrast, the STEPX Neo adopts the opposite strategy. Taking voice interaction as an example, the STEPX Neo enhances voice interaction capabilities through a dedicated microphone array, audio chip, and voice pickup algorithm without sacrificing touchscreen interaction.

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Furthermore, Lei Technology strongly concurs with STEPX's decision to make the AI Agent interaction interface the primary home screen. We have consistently maintained that the interaction logic is what fundamentally differentiates AI hardware from traditional smart devices.

Traditional smart devices are App-centric: We open Meituan to order food, JD.com for shopping, Didi for rides, and CapCut for vlog editing—each App representing a specific capability tailored to user needs.

AI hardware, however, is Skill-centric: Users no longer need to execute tasks step-by-step. Instead, they simply convey their needs to the main AI Agent, which then comprehends the task, breaks it down into subtasks, and coordinates different AI Agents to complete them. Users can even have the Agent integrate these sub-Agents into a project, enabling different AI Agents to collaborate on a single task.

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This task-based operating logic is what the AI Agent era genuinely necessitates.

What Else Do We Anticipate from AI Hardware?

That said, why did STEPX take the lead in designing smartphones from an AI Agent hardware perspective? This relates to STEPX's corporate background. Unlike traditional smartphone brands, STEPX is supported by Jieyue Xingchen, one of China's leading AI companies.

In fact, the significance of the STEPX Neo extends beyond being just another AI-capable smartphone; it functions as a hardware interaction gateway for STEPX AI. Since its inception, this hardware has been positioned as an entry point for AI interaction, naturally requiring specialized optimizations for AI interaction features.

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Of course, based on Lei Technology's on-site experience, the STEPX Neo still has room for enhancement: The services integrated with Amoo are not yet extensive enough; its decision-making remains relatively cautious, hesitating to take significant actions even with user authorization; and the brand's visibility and influence in the smartphone market are virtually non-existent. These issues remain to be addressed by STEPX over time.

Lei Technology has consistently emphasized that personal hub devices in the AI era may not necessarily be smartphones. However, given the current development of wearables like smart glasses, earbuds, and watches, smartphones remain the only devices capable of providing sufficient local computing power while remaining portable and supporting specific scenarios like work, entertainment, and payments.

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While the future of smart hardware in the AI Agent era remains uncertain, at least as of 2026, native AI Agent smartphones like the STEPX Neo represent a more viable smart hardware solution.

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Images in this article are from the 123RF licensed library. Source: Lei Technology