Nubia is preparing a flagship phone that aims to move beyond the usual chatbot-style AI experience. The device is being positioned as the world’s first smartphone with an AI agent capable of handling complex tasks on its own.
The company says the phone will not simply respond to prompts. Instead, it is designed to understand natural language requests and carry out several steps across different apps with minimal user intervention.
A phone that takes action, not just instructions
One of the clearest examples shared by Nubia involves booking a flight to Beijing at the lowest available price. In that scenario, the AI agent is expected to open the needed apps, compare fares, fill in booking details, and complete payment.
That approach would mark a significant shift in how smartphones use AI. Current AI phones generally focus on answering questions, generating text, or assisting with simple commands, while Nubia is aiming at task execution across services.
Built around on-device intelligence
Nubia says the capability comes from a GUI agent architecture and a large language model running directly on the device. This setup allows the phone to interpret the visual interface itself, rather than depending only on application APIs.
ZTE also says an internal scheduling technology called CoClaw helps coordinate operations across apps and ecosystems. Together, these elements form the technical core of the company’s plan to deliver deeper automation on a smartphone.
| Detail | Information | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Device | Nubia flagship AI agent phone | Described as the world’s first smartphone with an AI agent |
| Public debut | WAIC 2026 | Shanghai, July 17 to July 20 |
| Core technology | GUI agent architecture, on-device large language model, CoClaw | Designed for cross-app automation |
Industry speculation suggests the phone could be the commercial version of Nubia Doubao second generation, developed with ByteDance. Its predecessor, the Nubia M153, was previously shown as a technology preview and reportedly sold out its initial batch of 30,000 units on the first day.
Gizmochina also reported that Shanghai officials had previously hinted at a major Nubia launch at this year’s event. If the company delivers as promised, the device could become an important marker in the race to turn smartphone AI into something that can actually complete real-world tasks.
For users watching the evolution of AI hardware, the launch will be worth following closely. Nubia appears to be pushing the category past helpful suggestions and toward software that can act on behalf of the user.