Nothing CEO Carl Pei Envisions Future Smartphones Without Apps, Says Apple Has Lost Its Creativity

Highlights

• Carl Pei envisions a future without traditional apps, where AI-powered operating systems handle user tasks automatically.
• Nothing is shifting toward AI integration with the upcoming Phone (3) marks the first step toward an AI-powered platform.
• Pei criticises Apple for losing its creativity, calling it “very corporate” and its recent AI efforts underwhelming.

Caption – Nothing CEO believes the future of smartphones is one without Apps. (Image credit – Unknown)

Nothing CEO Carl Pei has shared bold thoughts about the future of smartphones. Pei believes traditional apps will disappear in future, replaced by AI-powered operating systems that handle everything for you.

Carl Pei’s Vision For the Future of Smartphones

In a recent interview with WIRED, Pei laid out his vision. He said the goal is for smartphones to evolve into smart, proactive tools that help users get things done without the need to tap through dozens of apps. “The user will spend less time doing boring things and more time on what they care about,” he said.

This aligns with Nothing’s shift towards AI, as revealed in a leaked internal memo that called the upcoming Phone (3) the “first step” toward building an “AI-powered platform.” We’ve already seen early signs of this direction with “Essential Space” on the Nothing Phone (3a).

He compared Nothing’s AI ambitions to Apple’s early success with the iPod, saying his company wants to build the “iPod” of AI, a product that delivers a better experience through simplicity and innovation.

He explained, “If you look back, the iPod was not launched as “an MP3 player with a hard disk drive.” The hard disk drive was merely a means to a better user experience. AI is just a new technology that enables us to create better products for users. So, our strategy is not to make big claims that AI is going to change the world and revolutionize smartphones. For us, it’s about using it to solve a consumer problem, not to tell a big story. We want the product to be the story.”

Interestingly, Pei isn’t sold on the current wave of AI devices like smart glasses. Instead, he believes the smartphone will remain the central device for AI “for the foreseeable future,” but it will “change dramatically.”

“I believe that in the future, the entire phone will only have one app—and that will be the OS. The OS will know its user well and will be optimized for that person… […] The next step after data-driven personalization, in my opinion, is automation. That is, the system knows you, knows who you are, and knows what you want. For example, the system knows your situation, time, place, and schedule, and it suggests what you should do. Right now, you have to go through a step-by-step process of figuring out for yourself what you want to do, then unlocking your smartphone and going through it step by step. In the future, your phone will suggest what you want to do and then do it automatically for you. So it will be agentic and automated and proactive,” Pei added.

What Pei Has To Say About Apple?

Pei didn’t hold back on his thoughts about Apple either. He said Nothing stands out for its “creativity,” while “the creative companies of the past,” like Apple, “have become very big and very corporate, and they’re no longer very creative.”

“Personally, I was very inspired by Apple when I was younger—the first iPod, the first iPhone—that’s the reason I’m in this industry. But now the creative companies of the past have become very big and very corporate, and they’re no longer very creative. They’re no longer inspirational for the younger generation,” Nothing CEO added.

It’s worth noting that Tony Fadell, the man known as the “father of the iPod,” is one of Nothing’s key investors, so Pei’s inspiration from Apple’s earlier, more experimental days runs deep.

Even though Apple has recently introduced Apple Intelligence, Pei isn’t impressed. In fact, he told WIRED that Apple’s latest AI push has been underwhelming, and that the company overall has grown “boring.”

“Apple today is very different from the Apple when I was younger. Last year, they told a very big story about Apple Intelligence. Now, a year later, it’s not much more than some generated emojis. So it’s made consumers very sceptical,” he said.

FAQs

Q1. What is Carl Pei’s vision for future smartphones?

Answer. Pei believes traditional apps will disappear, replaced by AI-powered operating systems that proactively handle tasks, reducing manual interactions for users.

Q2. How is Nothing incorporating AI into its devices?

Answer. Nothing is shifting toward AI integration, with the upcoming Phone (3) being the “first step” toward an AI-powered platform focused on automation and personalisation.

Q3. What does Pei think about Apple’s innovation?

Answer. Pei criticises Apple for becoming “corporate” and losing creativity, calling its recent AI push underwhelming and stating that consumers are sceptical about its advancements.

Also Read: Nothing Phone (3) launching in July: Here’s what we know so far

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