Thought Leadership
Which app was that again and where exactly is it? Sometimes using a smartphone can be quite a fiddle. Telekom asks why and proposes an “app-free experience”.
Deutsche Telekom is launching its own smartphone on the market, where users no longer need to access apps thanks to a voice assistant equipped with artificial intelligence (AI). “It’s an app-free experience,” says Claudia Nemat, Chief Technology Officer at Deutsche Telekom, about the “AI phone”, which is a further development of the Group’s own T-Phone and is to be unveiled today at the MWC mobile communications trade fair in Barcelona.
Nemat presented the idea a year ago as a “design concept”. The device is now largely finished – after final technical work, it is set to go on sale in the second half of the year.
With the AI phone, the user touches the display and can then speak to the AI assistant, which uses the AI search engine Perplexity. “Following the user’s voice commands, the AI assistant can initiate calls, write emails, make calendar entries, order a cab or provide information on the display about good restaurants in the vicinity or make suggestions for suitable gifts,” says Nemat. The AI assistant can also display directions or translate photographed documents. Podcasts could also be easily created.
Apps disappear from view
The special thing about the cell phone is that users no longer have to access different apps to find information in detail from services. “No one has to find their way around the jumble of apps they have on their phone – the AI assistant takes care of that,” says Nemat. “It orchestrates app usage.”
This is not entirely new: Google with Gemini and Apple with “Apple Intelligence” are now also using AI to trigger apps in the background.
However, the smartphone cannot do without apps: They are stored on the phone, but hidden behind the AI assistant interface. If you want, you can swipe away the interface and then access apps.
With the AI phone project, the Bonn-based company is stepping up its efforts to gain a stronger foothold in the hardware market and cultivate an innovative image to attract more customers. So far, the T-Phone has led a rather shadowy existence without the newly developed AI assistant, and the company has not published any sales figures.
Last year, Deutsche Telekom presented two possible versions of the AI phone: The now finalized mid-range smartphone and a more expensive version with a high-speed processor from Qualcomm. In this smartphone version, the AI was also supposed to provide answers when the user was offline. This version was not pursued further, says Nemat.
Competitors take a different approach
And what does the competition have to say about Telekom’s plans? O2 is cautious. O2 CEO Markus Haas continues to expect high demand for direct app use. “We will see whether voice assistants on smartphones become so popular that they ultimately replace apps.” In view of changing consumer habits, the network operator sees itself on the winning side. New AI applications need more data, so the data volume per user will increase.
Vodafone also does not want to launch its own AI smartphone on the market. Artificial intelligence could simplify cell phone operation. But: “In order to bring helpful AI services to our customers’ cell phones, we rely on partnerships, for example with Google,” says Marcel de Groot, Head of Vodafone Germany.
Positive feedback from industry experts
Independent experts view the Telekom project positively. Analyst Ben Wood from market research institute CCS Insight sees AI assistants, also known as AI agents, as a trend at this year’s MWC mobile trade fair. This should make smartphone use more intuitive.
“That’s a laudable goal, even if it’s difficult to achieve in reality,” says Wood. “AI is a game changer, and it is likely to profoundly change the way we interact with smartphones in the future.” Wood sees the Telekom project as further proof that the prices for extensive AI functionalities in smartphones are falling.
Wolf von Dewitz, dpa
