If you’re tuned into tech news or simply use the internet, you’ve likely noticed AI features permeating everything from apps to computers to—yes—smartphones. And according to OPPO, along with partners like Google, MediaTek, and IDC, we’re on the verge of experiencing true ‘AI Phones.’
But what exactly constitutes an AI Phone? As outlined at OPPO’s AI Strategy Briefing, AI Phones aim to enrich every facet of the smartphone experience with generative AI (Gen AI), empowering users to boost their creativity, productivity, and even routine interactions.
Early instances like AI-generated call summaries, AI-driven photo editing, and the AI Eraser on the OPPO Find X7 Ultra, illustrate this potential. In fact, the OPPO Find X7 Ultra could already be considered an AI Phone, but there’s still untapped potential.
OPPO plans to integrate generative AI technology across its smartphone lineup aggressively, making sophisticated AI phones accessible to all. By year-end, OPPO anticipates around 50 million AI Phones will be in use globally, a significant milestone in integrating AI into daily technology.
Enhancing Productivity and Creativity Generative AI is particularly impactful in realms of productivity and creativity. Susara van den Heever, Director of AI, Customer Engineering EMEA at Google Cloud, emphasized AI summaries: “I use it at work, for example, to summarize meetings. I use it in my private life, to summarize articles from my family. It saves time and provides precise insights quickly.”
Philipp Ennen, Principal Research Manager at MediaTek, shared his experience: “As a passionate photographer, removing objects from images used to be tedious. Now, with AI Eraser, it’s effortless.”
Industry consensus indicates that generative AI on smartphones will focus initially on productivity and creativity. Google is developing these features in collaboration with OPPO, aiming to enhance global productivity and creativity through this partnership.
Smartphones, with their advanced sensing and computational capabilities, are prime candidates for significant AI upgrades. AI Phones are poised to revolutionize our digital experiences, offering personalized, smarter, and more captivating interactions.
Francisco Jeronimo, IDC VP for Data and Analytics at IDC EMEA, noted that generative AI would revolutionize six key areas: entertainment, mobile office, sports and health, education, smart home, and transportation. AI Phones will not only monitor health but act as personal coaches and advisors.
In healthcare, Jeronimo explained, smartphones will allow patients to send images to doctors and even provide preliminary advice through AI capabilities, benefiting both patients and doctors.
Extending AI’s Advantages to All The transition from traditional smartphones to AI Phones signifies an ongoing evolution that will continually transform the mobile experience. Future AI Phones will integrate intelligence with sensory data, turning basic commands into dynamic dialogues with AI agents.
Nicole Zhang, General Manager of AI Product at OPPO, explained that these AI Agents could be embedded in the smartphone’s OS, learning from user data to become highly personalized assistants, offering recommendations without prompts.
While the full potential of AI Phones and AI Agents is still emerging, OPPO has spearheaded this transformation. Zhang highlighted three core capabilities for these AI Agents:
- Knowledge – utilizing knowledge graphs and search abilities to minimize inaccuracies.
- Memory – storing user profiles and personal data for a tailored AI experience.
- Tools – leveraging first-party apps, third-party services, and various other tools.
Practically speaking, intelligent OS could enable multimodal interactions, allowing third-party services to offer more flexible assistance. An AI Agent could easily manage complex tasks like “Book a Chinese restaurant with a friend for next Tuesday at 7 PM, within a 10-minute walk.”
Multimodal AI Phones will enhance voice interactions and improve accessibility, making phones more inclusive. For those with visual or physical impairments, voice control becomes paramount, while real-time transcription aids those with hearing impairments.
In sum, AI is set to radically transform smartphones. OPPO and its partners are dedicated to this vision, working towards a future where our phones—and other devices—benefit extensively from AI’s capabilities. This shift could be more significant than the transition from basic mobile phones to today’s smartphones.
