Recently, some media reported that ByteDance is developing an AI phone product named "Doubao Phone," with ZTE as the ODM manufacturer for contract manufacturing. It was planned to be launched by the end of this year or early next year, initially for internal testing and not for external sales. However, ByteDance quickly responded that "the relevant information is untrue" and emphasized that Doubao has no plans to launch its own mobile phone products.
This marks at least the third time in the past year that ByteDance has been rumored to enter the mobile phone business, with the company explicitly denying such claims each time.
Rumors about ByteDance's involvement in the mobile phone business have emerged frequently. In December last year, the market heard that it was cooperating with mobile phone manufacturer Nubia to develop an AI phone, targeting a price range of 5,000-7,000 yuan and planned for release in the third quarter of 2025, but ByteDance denied this.
In February this year, there were rumors that Zhao Ming, former CEO of Honor, would join ByteDance to be in charge of the mobile phone business, and the company also responded that "the information is untrue." By June, news emerged again that ByteDance would restart the previously acquired Smartisan team to develop AI phones, and ByteDance's response remained consistent: it focuses on exploring software solutions and denies hardware plans.
ByteDance's exploration in the hardware field is not blank, but the journey has been tortuous. Its hardware layout can be traced back to the end of 2018, when it acquired Smartisan's Nut phone team and related patents, thereby establishing the "Xinshi Laboratory." The team once launched two generations of Nut phones, TNT monitors, and peripheral products, but the market response failed to meet expectations, and the business focus eventually shifted to educational hardware.
In 2020, ByteDance launched the "Dali Education" brand and released its first educational hardware product, "Dali Smart Learning Lamp." However, apart from the desk lamp product, many educational hardware products it developed failed to achieve large-scale market promotion. In 2021, the company acquired the VR brand PICO for a high price of 9 billion yuan and made substantial investments in the VR content ecosystem. However, in recent years, both the PICO team and the educational hardware business line have undergone significant contractions.
With the rise of generative AI technology, AI hardware has become a new hotspot, and ByteDance has once again increased its hardware layout, but its strategy seems to have shifted to cooperation and ecological empowerment rather than independent development of complete machines.
In 2024, ByteDance fully acquired headphone manufacturer Oladance and launched the smart headphone "Ola Friend" connected to the Doubao large model in October, featuring AI functions such as encyclopedia Q&A and voice navigation. In the field of smart glasses, it has also collaborated with Yinmu Technology, whose multiple products are connected to the Doubao large model or use related technologies from Volcano Engine.
Regarding mobile phones, a mature and highly competitive hardware category, ByteDance's current public attitude is very cautious. A relevant person in charge of the company stated: "Doubao continues to explore opening up its AI capabilities to various hardware manufacturers, including mobile phone makers. In this process, we will conduct complete solution trials with some partners, but all collaborations do not involve the research, development, or launch of our own mobile phone products."
Despite continuous rumors, ByteDance's current action roadmap clearly indicates that it prefers to be a provider of AI technologies and services, embedding its capabilities into various hardware terminals through cooperation rather than manufacturing hardware itself. Amid the upsurge of AI hardware, ByteDance seems to have chosen a path more in line with its own genes.
(Reprinted from China Grid https://news.eccn.com)