StepFun Unveils StepX Neo, the "First Agentic AI Phone"

Hyderabad: Chinese Artificial Intelligence (AI) company StepFun has unveiled StepX Neo, describing it as the world s first large-model native agentic smartphone built around AI from the ground up, rather than AI added on top of an existing system. The device was revealed at a brand event in Shanghai, with news first shared by Chinese tech analyst Ice Universe before being confirmed by Chinese media outlets.What is an Agentic AI phone?Unlike conventional smartphones, where users manually operate apps, an agentic AI phone lets an AI assistant carry out tasks on behalf of the user from booking tickets to completing multi-step actions, without repeated prompts. While conventional smartphones require users to manually operate the apps, agentic AI phones handle everything autonomously under users instructions. StepX Neo: Operating system (OS) and processor architecture The StepX Neo runs on Step AOS, an OS built specifically for AI agents rather than adapted from Android. It comes with StepFun s own assistant, Amoo AI, which is integrated at the system level, with separate structures for memory, decision-making and security.According to the company, Amoo uses a 1+N model architecture, pairing one large, powerful model with several smaller, faster ones, allowing it to switch between on-device and cloud processing depending on task complexity. StepFun says Amoo can work offline for core functions.StepX Neo: Display and security The agentic AI phone also features a secondary display on the back for quick access to notifications and AI features without unlocking the main screen. StepFun has partnered with major platforms including Ctrip, Alipay, Didi, Meituan, Baidu, JD.com and WPS, allowing Amoo to complete tasks such as booking rides or ordering food across apps.On security, StepFun says agent actions run within a trusted execution environment, with permissions granted on demand and revoked after use, and mistakes reversible with a single tap. The company has also co-published an agent security whitepaper with the Shanghai AI Laboratory.It is worth noting that complete list of specifications, pricing and a launch date have not yet been announced.The agentic AI phone raceStepFun s unveiling arrives ahead of OpenAI s agentic AI phone, which is being developed with a custom agentic chip with Qualcomm and MediaTek, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. He also mentioned that mass production of the device, which was excepted to start in 2028, has been fast-tracked to the first half of 2027.Chinese rival ByteDance has already tested this space, partnering with ZTE to launch the Nubia M153 in December 2025, which integrated its Doubao AI assistant at the operating system level and sold out immediately in China. However, StepFun argues that phone relied on Android with AI layered in, whereas Step AOS is a native agent operating system built from scratch.Meanwhile, Google, Apple and Samsung continue to develop their AI assistants, Gemini, Apple Intelligence and Galaxy AI respectively, largely as software upgrades rather than ground-up agentic redesigns.The StepX Neo s unveiling signals China s rapid progress in AI hardware, with more companies expected to enter the agentic phone race in the coming months.Also Read: Cybercriminals Shifting From Hacking To Manipulating Digital Trust, AI, Identities: CERT-In Report