After a prolonged period of inactivity, ByteDance's 'Doubao Smartphone' initiative has resurfaced.

On April 13, Lanjing News reported that Honor is engaged in discussions with ByteDance regarding a potential collaboration centered around the 'Doubao Smartphone'.

As early as December 2025, ByteDance collaborated with ZTE to introduce the technical preview version of the ZTE Nubia M153, which came equipped with the Doubao assistant and was priced at 3499 yuan. As the first complete product in the industry to deeply integrate an AI large model, the initial batch of Nubia M153 engineering prototypes sold out instantly upon release. The original 3499 yuan device was even resold for six to seven thousand yuan on the secondhand market. However, this initial enthusiasm was short-lived; by mid-December, secondhand prices started to decline, with some platforms even offering the device below the original price.

Despite the fluctuating market performance, the Nubia M153 successfully demonstrated market acceptance for the 'system-level AI smartphone' product direction. In March 2026, the product made its first public overseas appearance at the MWC 2026 World Mobile Communications Conference.

However, according to Lanjing News, ByteDance's initial collaboration overtures were not directed at ZTE but at Honor.

Unfortunately, at that time, Honor exercised caution regarding deep system-level collaboration. With a user base exceeding 100 million, any fluctuations in the system's foundation could potentially impact tens of millions of users. The potential costs associated with stability or data security issues were deemed too high to risk.

Despite rejecting ByteDance's initial proposal, Honor and ByteDance have since engaged in several collaborations.

In June 2024, Honor became the first to integrate the Doubao large model, supporting office scenarios such as document processing, meeting organization, and copywriting generation. In October 2025, the collaboration deepened further, with the Honor Magic8 series and MagicOS 10 incorporating ByteDance's Volcano Engine, enhancing the YOYO assistant with real-time online search and multimodal image recognition capabilities.

This series of collaborations has paved the way for today's deeper engagement.

In December 2025, Fang Fei, President of Honor's Product Line, publicly stated, 'The Doubao smartphone assistant supports general scenarios and automates tasks through UI Agent, aligning with Honor AI's development trajectory from specific tasks to generalized execution.' This statement was interpreted as a direct signal of mutual recognition of their technological paths.

Leitech (ID: leitech) believes that competition among smartphones based on basic configurations and imaging parameters has nearly reached its zenith, with agent task execution capabilities driven by large models emerging as the next core battleground. The series of moves by Doubao smartphone closely echo Huawei's Hongmeng Zhixing model in the automotive sector, where intelligence empowerment takes precedence over manufacturing.

However, some critics argue that certain so-called 'AI features' may resemble marketing gimmicks during periods of slowed product iteration, with their true ability to meet user needs remaining unverified. For Honor and ByteDance, striking a balance between stability and intelligent experience in deep system integration remains a pivotal challenge.

Image Source: Doubao

Meanwhile, Honor is accelerating its own AI布局 (layout, or strategic deployment). Just today (April 13), Honor held a technical communication meeting in Xi'an, unveiling its terminal-side AI agent technology—YOYO Claw—and announcing that it will make its debut on the Honor MagicBook series of lightweight laptops, creating a new category dubbed 'shrimp-raising laptops.'

Previously, on March 27, YOYO Claw initiated an invitation-only closed beta, supporting cross-device task execution across smartphones, PCs, tablets, and other scenarios.

Additionally, on April 8, Honor announced its strategic partnership with the WSBK racing brand, and on April 12, its self-developed robots 'Lightning' and 'Vitality Buddy' officially registered to participate in the Beijing Yizhuang Humanoid Robot Half Marathon.

Regardless of the progress of talks with ByteDance, the strategic pivot of mainstream manufacturers towards 'system-level AI smartphones' is evident, with the industry's competitive focus potentially shifting from hardware parameters to AI agent service capabilities.

Honor ByteDance Doubao Smartphone

Source: Leitech

Images in this article are sourced from the 123RF Royalty-Free Image Library. Source: Leitech