The report says OpenAI could manufacture 30 million phones over the next two years

OpenAI appears to be rethinking its approach to entering the phone space. The company could produce millions of AI-focused phones over the next two years, according to industry insider Ming-Chi Kuo.

In post XKuo said the company is “fast-tracking” the device, which Kuo referred to as an “AI agent phone.” The analyst said that the company could begin mass production in the first half of next year and manufacture 30 million phones in the period from 2027 to 2028 if things go as planned.

Kuo is a Hong Kong-based market analyst TF International Securities He is known for his consistently accurate predictions, especially regarding Apple products and manufacturing timelines.

An OpenAI representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, the parent company of CNET, in 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging that it infringed Ziff Davis’s copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

As CNET reported last monthOpenAI has shifted from avoiding the so-called “Side quests” which is moving away from its main business to dive directly into the phone industry. The idea is to create a device that uses artificial intelligence agents instead of apps, enabling people to complete tasks and access information and entertain themselves more easily on their phones.

Although CNET poll last fall Showing that the vast majority of phone owners are not enthusiastic about AI features, OpenAI and its collaborators are convinced that AI will eventually replace phone apps. MediaTek – the Taiwanese system-on-a-chip manufacturer – will likely be the sole processor supplier for the OpenAI phone, Kuo said in his post.

OpenAI is also collaborating with semiconductor company Qualcomm and with Luxshare, which produces chargers, cables, antennas and connectors, Kuo said last month.

Despite potential consumer hesitation about AI-powered phones, some of the most popular phones have AI integration, including the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, Google Pixel 10 Pro, Apple iPhone 17 Pro, Honor Magic 7 Pro, and Xiaomi 15 Ultra. Grand View Research expects the global AI smartphone market to grow 52.1 million units in 2023 to nearly 1.9 billion By 2030.

OpenAI phone features

One of the key features of the first OpenAI phone will be an image signal processor, which captures images from the camera sensor for AI to use, Kuo said. The sensor will have an “enhanced” high dynamic range, resulting in higher quality images and providing more visual detail to the AI.

Kuo also said that the phone will feature a “dual NPU architecture for heterogeneous AI compute” — essentially meaning the device will use two AI processors to perform different tasks. For example, one might deal with image enhancement, while the other deals with object detection or language processing.

The device will be powered by a custom version of the Dimensity 9600, a MediaTek chipset designed for high-end AI processing and hardcore gaming. Other AI chips in the phones include Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro.

Kuo also said that the phone’s software will have strong memory and security aspects.