Doubao Second-Generation AI Phone to Launch in First Half of 2026, Featuring Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
According to blogger "Wisdom Chip Insider," the second-generation Doubao AI phone is expected to launch in the first half of 2026, with its core upgrade being the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Combined with previous reports, the second-generation Doubao AI phone will still be jointly developed by ByteDance and ZTE.
The hardware will be handled by ZTE Nubia for overall design, manufacturing, and supply chain, while ByteDance will lead the development of "Doubao Phone Assistant 2.0," deeply integrating large model capabilities into the operating system layer.
The goal of the Doubao AI phone is to achieve an interaction paradigm of "AI operating the phone on your behalf," rather than traditional App plugin-style AI functions.
It is reported that the first-generation Doubao phone (Nubia M153) was limitedly sold as an engineering sample of 30,000 units in December 2025, priced at 3499 yuan, and quickly sold out.
Despite being boycotted by some App manufacturers due to overly high AI permissions (such as WeChat and Meituan restricting its access), its capabilities such as "automatic price comparison and order placement with a single sentence" and "cross-application task execution" caused a sensation in the industry.
The second-generation model will significantly improve product completion and compatibility based on user feedback and ecosystem negotiation results.
News suggests that the new phone may reach agreements with some mainstream application manufacturers, such as those affiliated with Alibaba, to open up necessary permissions in high-frequency scenarios such as ride-hailing, food delivery, and ticket booking.
It should be noted that the previous generation Doubao phone was only an engineering machine, and it is currently uncertain whether this second-generation product will be available for consumers to purchase freely.