By Dou Wenxue

Edited by Ziye

After days of eager anticipation, the market has finally caught a glimpse of the true form of the second-generation Doubao smartphone.

On the afternoon of September 16th, the Nubia NaviX Ultra (the second-generation Doubao smartphone) was officially launched, positioned as an AI-driven consumer smartphone. It is available in four color options and three versions, with prices starting at 5,999 yuan.

Image Source: Doubao Smartphone Assistant Official Website

Nine months ago, the first-generation Doubao smartphone, a collaborative release by Doubao and ZTE, was introduced as a limited technical preview engineering model, priced at 3,499 yuan. It garnered significant attention for its GUI simulation clicking and cross-application automatic task execution technology. All 30,000 units sold out immediately upon release, with some even reselling on secondhand platforms for over 4,000 yuan in premium.

However, the initial excitement was short-lived. While the cross-platform automatic task execution function was the standout feature that set the Doubao smartphone apart from ordinary smartphones, it also raised alarms among competitors. The Doubao smartphone quickly faced risk control restrictions from mainstream apps, limiting its core automation capabilities.

Coupled with issues such as weak hardware foundations, heavy reliance on cloud computing power, frequent lagging, and overheating, the first-generation Doubao smartphone remained at the engineering model stage and lacked the capability for large-scale mass production and market release.

The latest generation of the Doubao smartphone has undergone numerous adjustments to address these issues.

Some basic hardware configurations have reached mainstream mid-range flagship levels. The phone's AI operation capabilities support ByteDance-owned products, some authorized or loosely controlled third-party apps, and built-in system applications. It can assist users in browsing Douyin, using Feishu, and performing some cross-app operations, still offering highlights compared to ordinary smartphones.

However, with application authorization still constrained, the second-generation Doubao smartphone's disruptive potential is clearly weaker than the first generation. It can be said that the issues exposed by the previous generation continue to limit the ceiling of the Doubao smartphone.

The new generation of the Doubao smartphone shows progress and breakthroughs, but convincing users to adopt it as their primary daily device remains challenging.

What Sets This Doubao Smartphone Apart?

From the first to the second generation, the underlying logic of the Doubao smartphone has not fundamentally changed. Both generations adhere to an AI-native underlying architecture, where Doubao is not a third-party app but a system-level capability of the phone itself.

Under the same core, the second-generation product has addressed some shortcomings.

As the Doubao smartphone has transitioned from an engineering model to a consumer smartphone, many optimizations have been made at the basic hardware level to meet daily usage needs.

In particular, the chips and battery of the NaviX Ultra boast high performance.

The NaviX Ultra is equipped with the fifth-generation Snapdragon 8 Elite + LPDDR5X 10667Mbps performance combination, regarded as the top chip platform in the current Android lineup. Products like the OPPO Find X9 Ultra and vivo X300 Ultra also use this chip.

The first-generation Doubao smartphone had a 6000mAh battery, but due to early hardware power consumption and overheating control limitations, its actual battery life performance was poor. The second-generation Doubao smartphone features a 7100mAh battery, higher than some flagship smartphones.

Image Source: Doubao Smartphone Assistant Official Website

Compared to the first generation, which compromised on camera parameters, the second-generation Doubao smartphone offers a more complete camera function.

Both models adopt a triple-camera setup, but the first generation used 50-megapixel lenses for the main, telephoto, and ultra-wide cameras. The second generation features a 200-megapixel main camera and a 64-megapixel telephoto lens, with the ultra-wide camera retaining the same pixel count but adding autofocus support.

The second-generation Doubao smartphone also maintains portability, with a body thickness of just 7.62 millimeters and a weight of 208 grams, making it not only thinner and lighter than the first-generation Doubao smartphone but also thinner and lighter than the iPhone 18 Pro, which has a thickness of 8.75 millimeters and weighs 211 grams.

In addition to hardware improvements, the most significant iteration of the second-generation Doubao smartphone is the fundamental adjustment to the controversial AI execution plan from the first generation.

The first-generation Doubao smartphone adopted a GUI screen visual simulation clicking scheme, which could capture screen content, recognize elements on the phone interface, and simulate human finger taps and swipes to achieve cross-application automatic operations.

However, this mechanism quickly faced resistance from major apps. WeChat first detected abnormal device environments, frequently displaying risk warnings and forcing user logouts. Platforms like Taobao, Pinduoduo, and Alipay soon followed, strengthening permission verification mechanisms. Banking apps also blocked login and payment processes.

After learning from the first generation's risk control bans and ecosystem collapse, the second-generation Doubao smartphone abandoned the original technical path. It transformed the controversial "operating the phone" function into a Beta version and introduced the Screen Automation Execution Protocol (SAEP), returning the choice of AI operation boundaries to third-party developers.

For example, if a user wants to hail a ride, the Doubao smartphone will communicate this request to Didi, allowing Didi to decide which functions Doubao can invoke.

This approach resolves the compliance issues of the first-generation Doubao smartphone, ensuring that popular apps like WeChat and Taobao can be used normally on the Doubao smartphone.

Furthermore, the AI agent of the second-generation Doubao smartphone is more mature than the first generation.

The first generation relied heavily on cloud computing power, leading to significant issues with task lagging, delays, and overheating. The second generation enhances on-device AI capabilities, enabling basic tasks like summarization, image recognition, and memory organization to be completed locally. The fluency of multi-round continuous dialogues and complex task processing has also significantly improved.

Both generations support a clean system with zero pre-installed apps and no ads, but the second generation has further optimized system-level features. For example, it adds an independent AI button with integrated fingerprint recognition on the side. Users can press the AI button, complete personal verification, and invoke the assistant to execute tasks without secondary unlocking. Gesture operations, small windows, and multitasking interactions have also been optimized.

Image Source: Doubao Smartphone Assistant Official Website

The Doubao smartphone is increasingly resembling a smartphone that users can comfortably use daily.

Is the Second-Generation Doubao Smartphone User-Friendly?

Under the new operational framework, the automation capabilities of the second-generation Doubao smartphone still face some restrictions. It operates smoothly within the ByteDance ecosystem and a few third-party applications, but most popular, high-frequency apps like WeChat, Taobao, and Meituan have not yet opened their in-app automation interfaces.

Fortunately, ByteDance owns numerous applications, and in some scenarios, the second-generation Doubao smartphone proves useful.

There are several primary ways to invoke the Doubao assistant. The core method is to long-press the independent AI button on the side of the phone. After fingerprint confirmation that the user is the owner, the Doubao assistant with full operational permissions will be activated, even from the lock screen.

Image Source: Doubao Smartphone Assistant Official Website

Non-owners can also summon the assistant, but only for basic Q&A functions like weather and encyclopedia queries. They cannot access local data or perform device operation tasks, thereby avoiding privacy risks.

A short press of the AI button will bring up the Doubao assistant dialog box, suitable for scenarios where voice communication is inconvenient, and users prefer typing instructions.

In addition to pressing buttons, users can complete voiceprint enrollment and say the wake word "Doubao, Doubao" to activate the assistant.

Once the Doubao assistant is invoked, its execution path is smoothest within the ByteDance ecosystem applications.

For example, in Douyin, the Doubao assistant can help users like and comment on various videos, automatically browse videos according to user requests, and batch-collect selected content.

The Doubao smartphone also integrates tightly with Feishu.

After users log in to their Feishu accounts, Doubao can access Feishu's messages, cloud documents, and schedules. Users can complete tasks like summarizing group messages, checking to-dos, and forwarding documents with a single sentence.

In meeting scenarios, users can ask Doubao to parse recorded transcriptions, generate meeting minutes, distinguish conclusions and to-dos, and, according to the official Doubao smartphone demonstration, save the minutes to Feishu documents and share them with the project group.

Image Source: Doubao Smartphone Assistant Official Website

Regarding the AI agent's task execution capabilities, the Doubao smartphone supports simultaneous submission of multiple tasks.

For example, while asking Doubao to open Douyin and find videos, users can also request it to search for flights on Qunar and order an iced Americano on the Luckin Coffee app. Tasks that cannot be processed immediately will automatically be queued.

The price comparison function from the first-generation Doubao smartphone is partially retained in the second generation. For instance, media reviews indicate that the Doubao assistant can automatically complete product price comparisons and add items to shopping carts in Douyin and JD.com malls.

The Doubao assistant also performs well in some cross-app tasks.

For example, if a user wants to arrange a business trip itinerary, confirm the itinerary in Feishu, book flights and hotels on Ctrip, and check commuting routes and durations from the airport to the hotel and from the hotel to the venue on Baidu Maps, the Doubao smartphone simplifies the process. Users only need to write a planning document in Feishu, recording the travel dates, destination city, and several key locations, then tell the Doubao assistant to plan the trip according to the Feishu document's schedule and chat records with colleagues. The Doubao assistant will complete the tasks step by step, sometimes pausing to seek user input before continuing.

Notably, these tasks can be executed in the background without disrupting the user's normal phone usage.

The memory function of the Doubao assistant is also one of the product's core highlights.

As users operate the phone, Doubao learns their preferences. Users can also proactively let Doubao remember key information, such as coffee flavor preferences and pre-meeting preparation habits, by swiping up with three fingers.

In the system's built-in local applications, the Doubao assistant can also help users reduce operation steps and free their hands in many scenarios.

For example, if a user wants to find a long-ago taken photo of identification information among numerous pictures, they can directly ask the phone, "What is the validity period of my Hong Kong and Macau Travel Pass photo taken earlier?" If they want to find key information in a recording, they can simply summon Doubao and ask, "Help me find the phone number mentioned in this recording."

Some scattered system settings can also be completed directly via voice, such as automatically switching the screen to dark mode and enabling silent mode at 10:00 PM.

Overall, the second-generation Doubao smartphone still has highlights, but whether it is worth buying remains questionable.

Is the Doubao Smartphone Priced at 5,999 Yuan a Good Value?

From a hardware parameters and AI functionality perspective, the second-generation Doubao smartphone is already a competent smartphone.

However, its starting price of 5,999 yuan is higher than conventional Android models with similar hardware configurations. The logic behind this premium essentially lies in the innovative value of its system-level AI-native capabilities.

This capability is indeed groundbreaking and justifies a premium, but it cannot overshadow the Doubao smartphone's shortcomings.

To create a consumer-grade AI agent smartphone, it is essential to consider users' core needs when using their phones daily.

However, most popular apps like WeChat, Xiaohongshu, Meituan, and Taobao tend to block the Doubao smartphone's assistant.

Under such circumstances, the Doubao smartphone's functions seem somewhat marginal, and the necessity for users to utilize its AI capabilities is not strong enough.

Some users tried to get Doubao to post an update on WeChat Moments, only to discover that although the assistant could automatically launch WeChat, it responded by saying it couldn't automatically carry out the in-app task of posting a Moments update. When requested to reply to messages on WeChat, the assistant explicitly stated, "WeChat is an application subject to risk control, and I'm unable to send messages automatically."

Even when it comes to authorized apps, the functionality of the Doubao phone still has room for enhancement.

Numerous users who gave it a try reported on social media that the Doubao assistant's attempt to edit videos in Jianying produced subpar outcomes. "It merely selected the first few images to process, without actually curating the photos or paying attention to the output quality."

This issue was also highlighted in certain tests. When Doubao imported multiple video clips into CapCut for splicing, it chose incorrect materials for several of them, ultimately resulting in a failed export. In scenarios that involve recognizing multiple materials and performing complex timeline operations, the Doubao mobile phone's performance was somewhat erratic.

Many users have also pointed out that this phone has a fast battery drain and slow charging speed.

Limitations in certain details also indicate that the Doubao mobile phone is still a long way from being truly hands-free.

For instance, when handling tasks like payments and real-name authentication, the Doubao mobile phone assistant still has to guide users to perform the operations manually. It can't truly accomplish tasks with just a single sentence. Moreover, some users have observed that tasks such as organizing desktop icons, which can be easily done by regular Android phone assistants, are not handled well by the Doubao mobile phone.

These AI operation functions, which are not yet user-friendly, hardly justify a starting price of 5,999 yuan.

From an industry standpoint, the introduction of the Doubao mobile phone opens up a new realm of possibilities for the development path of AI terminals.

However, it's clear that current AI agent terminals generally encounter the problem of lacking a unified and mature mechanism for cross-platform collaboration, making it challenging to fully unlock the greatest advantage of the Doubao mobile phone.

There may still be a considerable journey ahead for the Doubao mobile phone to achieve significant sales as a consumer-grade mobile phone product.

(The header image of this article features the Nubia NaviX Ultra, sourced from the official website of the Doubao mobile phone assistant.)