In the world of artificial intelligence, things can move fast, with the companies at the helm often shifting quickly.
A new report from TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (@mingchikuo) suggests that OpenAI is reversing course on its past smartphone position and now working to build its own.
— 郭明錤｜Ming-Chi Kuo (@mingchikuo) April 27, 2026
Kuo reported on April 26 that the company behind ChatGPT is teaming with MediaTek, Qualcomm, and Luxshare, aiming for mass production in 2028.
As 9To5Mac detailed, this would be a clear break from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's past position on the necessity of the company having its own device to compete with Apple and its iPhone.
Kuo's reporting suggests that ChatGPT's AI agents would be central to the hypothetical phone, distinguishing it from the app-centric experience of smartphones currently on the market.
Also on April 26, Altman took to his X account to post that it "feels like a good time to seriously rethink how operating systems and user interfaces are designed."
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Altman's post hints at some dissatisfaction with the level of integration of ChatGPT and other AI tools into smartphone experiences to date.
9to5Mac pointed out that Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas recently said that, unlike many products or industries, "the iPhone is actually not getting disrupted by AI at all."
An AI company creating its own phone to capitalize on the product's structural advantages could be the only way in. However, whether consumers will buy into the vision Kuo presented is an open question.
Commenters on X were skeptical of the plan.
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"AI can't play games, watch Netflix, and scroll social media," one pointed out. "That is why 99% have phones."
"This will be DOA," another user predicted. "Having [a] phone that is driven entirely by email, browser, RCS, and ChatGPT integrated-apps will not be able to replace iOS/Android devices."
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