Produced by | Dali Finance

The introduction of the ZTE nubia M153, featuring the Doubao Mobile Assistant, has sparked a buying frenzy, indicating that AI mobile phones have reached a pivotal juncture, transitioning from conceptual showcases to widespread adoption.

The capital market reacted promptly. The AI mobile phone sector index climbed, with shares of ZTE and other companies experiencing a surge. Among consumers, the initial batch of roughly 30,000 units sold out instantly, with some devices fetching a premium of 700 to 1,500 yuan in the secondhand market.

The technical preview version of the Doubao Mobile Assistant swiftly announced standardized adjustments for three scenario types: curbing score manipulation and incentive grabbing, temporarily suspending financial app operations, and disabling certain AI gaming functionalities.

The primary rationale is pragmatic: to prevent violations of app developers' rules and user safety thresholds. For instance, some users have reported unusual WeChat login activities triggered by AI operations that set off platform risk controls.

Dali Finance posits that the scenario restrictions imposed by the Doubao Mobile Assistant do not signify a retreat from the AI-driven device operation trend but rather a strategic 'advance through retreat' during the initial phases of technological implementation.

For manufacturers such as Xiaomi, Huawei, Honor, OPPO, Vivo, and Apple, the AI mobile phone race is not a question of 'if' but 'who risks obsolescence if they lag behind.' User-driven demand necessitates that both Android and iOS ecosystems embrace AI.

In the irreversible AI interaction revolution, temporary compromises can foster industry-wide consensus on regulations, paving the way for sustainable ecological growth. Given its technological prowess, ecological strategy (translated as 'ecosystem development'), and industry landscape, future advancements will hinge on 'collaborative rule-setting, technological refinement, and ecological expansion.'

The trend towards hardware AI integration is already apparent, propelled by the Doubao Large Model's capabilities in reasoning, visual comprehension, voice interaction, and graphical interface manipulation. Who will shape the future AI mobile phone ecosystem?

01

Doubao Drives Cross-Industry Rule Collaboration Amid Industry Pushback

From a competitive perspective, WeChat's rejection of Doubao is not a technological clash but the opening salvo in an ecological defense battle. Doubao's strategic adjustments aim to reconcile rule conflicts between AI-driven operations and existing app ecosystems, averting escalation into uncontrollable PR crises reminiscent of the 3Q War.

Data serves as both the lifeblood and constraints of AI. The success of Doubao's model hinges on navigating a middle ground between innovation and privacy.

Doubao does not manufacture phones but aspires to set standards for all. Resistance is inevitable.

Doubao's foremost priority is to establish regular communication channels with leading firms across sectors, transitioning from 'reactive adaptation' to 'proactive collaboration.'

By strategically retreating, Doubao will not merely halt at temporarily disabling financial features but will collaborate with banks and payment institutions to develop AI financial operation safety standards. These will delineate a three-tier process: 'AI-assisted inquiry → user-authorized operation → fund security verification.' For instance, by integrating official API interfaces, compliant operations like bill inquiries and repayment reminders can be facilitated while retaining mandatory user control for payments.

In e-commerce and gaming, tailored collaboration plans will address core disputes like 'incentive collection' and 'competitive fairness.' For e-commerce platforms, exclusive AI tool modules can be developed to support user benefits like price comparisons and coupon screening while blocking violations (translated as 'violating') such as bulk coupon manipulation and fake reviews.

For gaming firms, 'AI assistance mode' whitelists can be provided, enabling non-competitive AI capabilities like story progression and task reminders while employing technical measures to thwart unfair practices like proxy gaming and score manipulation.

This positions Doubao not merely as a voice assistant but as a system-level intelligent agent with elevated privileges capable of executing complex tasks across apps.

02

Deepening Technological Iteration to Enhance Safety and User Experience

The core competitiveness of AI-driven operations lies in 'efficiency and safety,' which will remain the focal point of future technological evolution.

Doubao will continually optimize its on-device large model capabilities, planning to upgrade from the current preview version to a 7B-parameter on-device model within six months, enhancing cross-app operation precision and scenario coverage.

For instance, multimodal recognition capabilities will be refined to support advanced functions like complex image information extraction and cross-app content automation. Meanwhile, techniques like 'simulating human random operation intervals' and 'visual anti-crawling verification' will reduce false positives from app risk controls.

Phone manufacturers face a pivotal decision: Should they relinquish 'control' to embrace third-party large models or invest in self-developed solutions to maintain ecological sovereignty?

03

Expanding Hardware Ecosystem Coverage: From Novelty to Mainstream Integration

ByteDance has explicitly ruled out developing its own phones, opting instead for 'AI capability output + hardware vendor collaboration.' The nubia M153, equipped with Doubao Assistant, serves merely as a technical preview platform. Future efforts will accelerate penetration across the entire Android ecosystem.

Several speculations arise: In hardware collaboration, beyond deepening ties with ZTE to launch customized AI terminals (e.g., mass-produced models with dedicated NPU chips and AI buttons), Doubao may open API interfaces to Xiaomi, Huawei, Honor, OPPO, Vivo, and others, offering a 'modular Doubao Assistant embedding plan' to reduce vendor adoption costs and facilitate broader mainstream brand integration.

Doubao could integrate its mobile assistant with other ByteDance hardware products, AR glasses, and OraFun earphones to construct an 'AI interaction network centered on phones with multi-device synergy.'

Technological implementation ultimately requires commercial viability. Future monetization strategies for Doubao Mobile Assistant will explore three avenues: 'model licensing, scenario-based services, and advertising integration.'

For model licensing, hardware vendors will pay AI assistant technology licensing fees along with a small percentage of device activation fees. For scenario-based services, enterprise users can subscribe to 'customized AI office assistants' featuring cross-app file integration, automatic meeting minute generation, and client information classification. For advertising integration, AI-driven recommendations for compliant services like hotels and flights will generate revenue through click-through commissions with merchants, while strictly controlling recommendation frequency to avoid disrupting user experience.

04

The Real Race Begins After Doubao's Early Lead

From an industry perspective, user demand for AI assistants has evolved from 'novelty' to 'necessity.'

Doubao demonstrates that in the AI mobile phone era, software and ecosystems may wield greater decisive influence than hardware itself, subverting the mobile industry's long-standing 'hardware-first' paradigm.

While Doubao has secured an early lead, the marathon has just commenced. AI mobile phones are not a feature race but a comprehensive competition encompassing experience, ecosystem, and trust.

Doubao's current compromises aim to prevent technological marginalization due to regulatory gaps in this irreversible trend.

As regulations solidify and technologies mature, Doubao could transition from a 'technological pioneer' to an 'industry rule-setter,' truly defining the next generation of mobile interaction.

Are traditional phone makers and super apps trembling?