Brain Technologies, a company founded in 2015 to build out an AI interface, unveiled a new smartphone at Mobile World Congress that doesn’t run apps and instead relies on generative AI for its entire software experience.
The Brain.ai smartphone runs on Android but doesn’t come with any apps. It also ditches app stores and traditional user interface design. Instead, the operating system is "the world’s first generative AI interface," Natural AI. Users need only to say what they want from the handset and the resulting interface is an app that answers your prompt.
The folks over at TechCrunch demoed Brain.ai and said the interface was decidedly different than Android or iOS. When they queried the handset with “recommend a gift for my grandma, who can’t get out of bed,” Brain.ai showed a series of e-commerce results on its display. They could then change up their search or if they liked what they saw, add it to a shopping cart on the e-commerce site selling the product.
On its website, Brain.ai offers some other examples, including the option to tell the smartphone to get an Uber between two locations. It can also be used to book flights, Airbnb locations, and more.
Brain didn’t discuss the phone’s camera capabilities on its website, but did tell TechCrunch that when users take a photo, the interface is capable of translating text, interpreting the world around you, and more.
“Natural clears away the clutter on your screen,” Brain Technologies writes on its website. “It allows you to focus on what you want, not how to get there.”
It’s unclear how many capabilities the smartphone will have out of the box. However, the company told TechCrunch that AI powers its software set and as more people input queries, it’ll expand its capabilities. It’s also worth noting that all of the smartphone’s AI features are performed off-device, so without an Internet connection, the Brain.ai is a bit better than a brick.
Brain hasn’t disclosed its future plans for the smartphone, including critical details like how much it’ll cost and where it’ll be available. It’s also unclear if there’s a market for an Android phone without apps, but it’s a novel approach to bridge the gap between mobile software and AI.
