AI Hustle Co-host Jamie (3:01)

Yeah, I mean, this whole concept really kind of blows my mind as far as how would it all work? Could be something that really does actually catch on. To what extent, we don't know, but. So apparently there's rumors that OpenAI, they're working on a phone in collaboration with MediaTek, Qualcomm and Luxshare. So they're trying to put together hardware that is focused on utilizing AI using OpenAI, I should say, as its main engine, main driver of the software. And I think you already brought this up, but about a year, maybe a couple of years ago, there was the Rabbit phone that everyone kind of made fun of because it was like really lo fi, and it didn't really have a whole lot of function to it other than it was the AI was actually accessing different apps and doing things for you, sort of. And this is way before all the AI agent talk came out, and so people didn't really quite understand it. But now I think we're in a new era of AI agents, and I think that this actually could be something quite useful. However, I can't imagine in my brain app the idea of an app ever going away because, you know, OpenAI still has to access data from somewhere, integrate it all. And I feel like there's an element of, you know, the visual that people still want. They don't just want to see a bunch of text on a screen. There's like the dopamine hit of, like, different colors and swipes and things like that. So I don't really know how it would all work. Jane, what do you think about it?

AI Hustle Host (4:35)

I think they have a couple different like, advantages here than say, like a company like Anthropic shipping this. I don't think Anthropic could ship a consumer phone that would really work because they have a smaller audience that pays a lot more. But OpenAI is kind of at this interesting place where they, they're closing in on close to a billion weekly active users. Like that is so many people. So they have this just massive footprint of kind of general people and a phone is the most general piece of hardware now. They recently have made a partnership with Jony I've who form designed the iPhone for Apple and he's kind of the famous Apple designer. And they've, you know, teased doing a hardware play. They haven't said exactly what it was. Some people think it's gonna be like AirPods. Some people think maybe it's glasses. Maybe it's some like puck that sits on your desk and you talk to it like an Alexa. There's like all of these different ideas and, and of course Johnny I've and Sam Altman have like done whole hype videos where they're together and they're like, it's just the most incredible piece of technology we've ever seen. It's so simple, it's so obvious. Like, how has no one thought of this before? And of course like they, they give no hints as to what it is. So there's, there's definitely like this really funny vibe. But what I think actually happens is I think they've created a lot of hype and speculation and they could change the product to be anything they want. So even if they didn't originally set out to make a phone, I think maybe they're like, well, maybe we will make a phone because it's interesting and maybe, you know, a billion users, people would buy it. So I think it is weird going from they have one application, it's very useful, answers your questions for you, but you need an entire piece of glass that runs every software you have on your phone to power it. Like, can they make that leap and convince consumers that that's, you know, what they would want when they're. We're all used to our iPhones and we're all used to our, you know, our Androids. Like, we're all just used to our phone companies. Android, it ties into everything. Google, iPhone, we have our blue bubbles. Like we all have our moats, right to the reason why we use our phone. So like, what is OpenAI really going to be able to compete with. And so I just, I think this is interesting. And will they have like on screen apps? Like, if I'm like, hey, text my wife xyz, do I have to voice to text that? Do I just type that into a chat? Like text Jill this or like, I don't know, is there like ui? Like, I don't know, it's just so. There's so many questions. I have so many questions about this. Would it be useful? Yeah, I think it'd be useful. And is it where the future of software goes? Some people disagree with me, but I actually think that this is where software is going in the future. So I believe that we get to a point where it does beg the question, why do you need apps? Like, why do I need the Uber app? If I could just say, like, hey, book me an Uber for tomorrow at, you know, 7:00am from my current location to the airport. And I think maybe the reason why you need apps is you need some sort of like visual feedback. I want you just like, let's say you book an Uber. It's like, okay, do you want to book the Uber at $7? And it's like, well, I don't know. Like, what are the other options? Like, we're so used to this UI and so like, would we give up that UI where we can quickly scan or scroll or swipe or look or in ingest a whole bunch of data for like a chat experience? I don't know. But like, that's, that must be how billionaires do everything with their secretaries. I don't have a secretary personally, so I don't know. But right, like, I'm assuming you have like, or you got like your Jarvis or your like the, the AI from, you know, from like all the superhero movies where like you talk to it and it, it dictates and plans everything for your life. So evidently some people have moved there. Would everyone move there? I don't know.

AI Hustle Co-host Jamie (8:00)

Yeah, I mean, I have a couple thoughts. I've heard a couple really interesting theories recently just in the past couple of days of where AI is going. The one is that in the next few years, it'll become so powerful that it'll actually learn what you need and it'll adapt the software to fit your needs automatically. So I guess what I'm saying is, like you said, what's the problem with like a visual, like an Uber? You know, what if it could on the fly, generate the visual, the user experience for you and give you the different options for what Fare you want to choose what, you know, do you want the Uber XL with the leather seats, or do you want this? And generate the whole user, the ux, the design on the fly as it's going. You know, I think that could be a way to eliminate, you know, maybe 70 to 80% of apps is if it could actually generate that on the fly. I think that's really an interesting theory. The other theory that kind of goes along with that, with this whole thing, I'd love to hear your thoughts about it, is kind of the resurgence of the idea of crypto and using actual digital tokens as a currency within your phone to. To, you know, for example, book the Uber or order your food. And so people have a theory that a lot of these, you know, meme coins or old tokens are actually going to become useful again and crypto is going to boom again. What do you think about all that?

AI Hustle Host (9:29)

That is an interesting concept. If. I mean, I don't know, because you could also just have like Stripe or your credit card processor linked right into it and kind of like Apple pay, like, it's super easy. You double tap the two buttons on the side of your phone and it pays for stuff. And so, like, I think you could just have Apple pay pain for everything. Or OpenAI might have. I. Oh, you know what it's going to be if it's OpenAI. And Sam Altman, he owns World Coin, right? It scans your retina to verify your identity. They're like doing a pilot with Tinder right now. So to verify you're a human, I'll bet you it's like all powered by World Coin. So yeah, we'll probably get a crypto that runs the whole thing if it's OpenAI. So, yeah, probably not. Far from it. One thing that I do think is interesting is it says it will eliminate the need for all apps. I don't think it's gonna. It's still gonna rely on Uber. So it's gonna have an API to Uber. So it's still gonna go get the data from Uber. It's just, it's not gonna be the Uber app that displays the UI to you. It will be OpenAI that will display. And they could literally display in the exact same way that Uber normally displays it, or in a completely new way. Or maybe every single app has like the same visual feel, but it's. Do you know what I mean? Like, it's still pulling from the Uber API. And I think this is actually where the future of all websites and technology need to Go. So if you're building a software, what you need to start thinking about and we'll probably do a whole nother episode on this, but you need to start thinking about how your website, your business will integrate with agents and with AI when it's not humans doing everything. That's a whole nother discussion that I think is interesting. But I think for something like this phone, it'll probably still display things and like you mentioned, it can generate stuff on the fly and it's generated, it's getting the data from the API, so it's just how they display it, which it should be interesting. What's really crazy to me though is Chris Lanny said that OpenAI's first hardware product is going to be announced in the second half of 2026. Now this isn't necessarily the phone. My guess is this is kind of what Johnny I've and OpenAI have been working on. So maybe we could see like some AirPods or like an Alexa type device. That's my guess on it. We're going to see that in the second half of 2026. So we got, you know, somewhere in the next nine months we're, we're basically going to see that come out and I think depending on the reception of that hardware device will play a very heavy role in if they decide to roll out a phone. If this thing is a major flop and nobody likes it because let's be honest, these AI hardware devices have been big flops. I think the friendship or the friend.compendant, i don't, I don't ever see anyone wearing those with the exception of the Meta Ray Ban glasses I think will be, are a big win and I think they'll continue to be a big win. I think they shipped like 6 million of them at least already. So I think that glasses oddly enough will continue and maybe some of these other areas will struggle more. But anyways, so yeah, I guess there is hope on the horizon for it. Meta's Ray Bans are kind of crushing it with AI.

AI Hustle Co-host Jamie (12:21)

Well, hey, if you got any value out of this episode, be sure to leave us a rating or review wherever you're listening. Really appreciate those and they help us reach more people again. Check out the AI Hustle school community if you want to learn how to capitalize on some of these developments. Learn how to actually make money in the real world using AI. Thanks for listening and we'll see you next time.

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