Key Takeaways:
London-based electronics company Nothing has set out to revolutionize the smartphone market with its upcoming Nothing Phone (3) flagship. On Wednesday, the startup posted a video on its X account where CEO Carl Pei gave an update on the AI features that will be coming to its future devices and gave fans a first look at what it calls the “post-app world”.
Nothing Phone 3 Will Make Way For Personalized and Dynamic AI User Interfaces
Nothing Phone 3 is expected to ditch conventional apps in favor of a fully AI-powered operating system. Pel declared on X that the way we use our smartphones “needs to be redefined”. He noted that the current user experience hasn’t evolved for more than a decade and the next era of smartphones needs to be a “highly personalized, dynamic, and cross-device interface”.
Pei is betting on AI as the best way to get there, claiming that the technology will help bring about smartphone interfaces that are completely different from the ones we have today. He showed a preview of what the operating system of the next smartphone from Nothing might look like, and it strays far from the traditional grid of apps and widgets.
The ‘Hub’ – A New Homescreen Curated By AI for the User
The company showed off two main ideas for the future it proposes for smartphones, starting with the “Hub”. The Hub is an all-new home screen where the device uses generative AI to pull together all the information that the user might need into one space. This could include a reminder, a QR code with flight boarding information, weather updates, an important reminder for the day, and a suggestion on what the system believes the user may be interested in.
Walid, a designer at the company founded by the former CEO of OnePlus, said the team has been exploring ways of deeply integrating AI into its operating system. Nothing wanted to reimagine the home screen by moving away from being just an Android skin and becoming more of a hub of “contextual, relevant information”.
Nothing proposes that in the post-app world, users will simply interact with AI and ask it to do everything for them. The virtual assistant would coordinate any required applications to complete users’ requests in the background before they are asked to do so.
The idea here is to provide every user with a “highly personalized companion” that feels almost like their best friend.
Nothing’s Personalized AI Voice Companion will have Multimodal Capabilities
Nothing also showed off its concept for an AI-powered voice companion, which it described as multimodal and personalized. The companion can be identified by animated eyes that will pop on the home screen. Nothing said the system will be integrated with the iconic Glyph lights, and also on the lock screen.
Walid demonstrated Nothing’s AI assistant setup, where he was asked by the system of personality traits that he values the most in a friend. The app took his input to introduce an assistant called Oliver who fit into Walid’s description of a fun and thoughtful companion with a good sense of humor.
Pei asserted that his company is more than prepared to compete in the red-hot AI space. He noted that over the last 3 and half years, the company has been busily establishing its end-to-end capabilities and reaching stability with “solid growth plans”, and now it is ready to throw its hat into the consumer AI race.
After watching Nothing’s AI companion in action, it seemed quite similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT voice chatbot when it came to voice and appearance. Nothing hasn’t revealed whether its assistant will be run on-device or in the cloud, given the massive computing power that is required to run similar AI tools. Rumors suggest that the AI could be a cloud-dependent model.
Nothing recently integrated ChatGPT into its devices, turning the AI chatbot into a virtual assistant for the users of its smartphones and earbuds.
Nothing will Launch Its AI-Powered OS with the Nothing Phone (3) In 2025
The company released its first smartphone, the Nothing Phone (1) in July 2022. The device priced under $500, ran a customized skin of Android, and introduced the world to the iconic Glyph interface, giving the phone a unique standpoint in the market.
This was followed up by the slightly expensive Nothing Phone (2) last year, which moved toward the high-end smartphone market, gunning for Apple, Google, and Samsung with a $600 flagship device. This year, the company went back to its roots to release a sub-$300 smartphone with high-end specifications, called the Nothing Phone (2a).
The AI-powered operating system and assistant previewed by the company are still in the early stages of development, and may not be launched until the Nothing Phone (3). Pei said the next flagship smartphone from the London-based company would only come out in 2025.
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