At SXSW 2026 in Austin, Nothing CEO and co-founder Carl Pei made a bold prediction about the future of smartphones. The familiar grid of app icons, he argued, is on its way out.
In an interview on the sidelines of the event, Pei said the current mobile experience has barely evolved in structure for over a decade. Despite advances in hardware and performance, the fundamental interaction model remains the same: unlock the phone, open an app, navigate its interface, then repeat the process across multiple apps.
For Pei, that model no longer matches how people actually think or act. And he believes artificial intelligence will be the force that replaces it.
From tapping apps to expressing intent
Pei’s central argument is not just about design. It is about how smartphones interpret user intent.
Today, even simple tasks require jumping between multiple apps. Planning to meet a friend for coffee might involve messaging to coordinate, checking maps for directions, booking a ride, and updating a calendar. Each step requires a separate interface, forcing users to translate a single intention into multiple actions.
Pei suggests that this friction is unnecessary.
Instead of navigating apps, users should be able to express intent directly. An AI system, deeply integrated into the operating system, would understand that intent and execute the required actions automatically.
In this model, the phone becomes less of a tool for manual interaction and more of an assistant that completes tasks on behalf of the user.
An operating system that replaces the app layer
Pei’s vision goes further than incremental improvements.
He describes a future where the operating system itself becomes the primary interface. Rather than opening apps, users interact with a single AI layer that coordinates services behind the scenes.
This approach would rely on services exposing their capabilities in a machine-readable way, allowing AI agents to call them directly. Instead of simulating taps within existing interfaces, the system would connect to services through APIs designed for automation.
Pei is critical of current AI demonstrations that mimic human interaction with apps. He sees those as transitional, not foundational. The long-term shift, in his view, requires rethinking how services are built and accessed altogether.
How this aligns with Nothing’s broader strategy
The comments at SXSW are not isolated remarks. They are closely tied to Nothing’s product direction.
Over the past year, Pei has been positioning the company around the idea of an “AI-first device.” That narrative helped support a $200 million Series C funding round in 2025, aimed at developing a new generation of smartphones centered on AI.
While Nothing has not announced a dedicated “agent phone,” the company is clearly signaling its intent to move beyond traditional Android experiences. The goal is not to add AI features on top of existing systems, but to build an interface where AI is the primary layer.
In such a device, personalization would play a central role. The system would need to understand user behavior deeply enough that its actions feel reliable, reducing the need for manual intervention.
A gradual shift, not an overnight disruption
Despite the strong language, Pei does not expect apps to disappear immediately.
The transition toward AI-driven interfaces is likely to unfold over several years. Existing app ecosystems will continue to coexist with emerging agent-based systems as infrastructure, permissions, and user trust evolve.
For developers and product teams, the implication is not that apps are becoming irrelevant overnight. Instead, the nature of their value may change.
Applications may increasingly function as service layers that AI systems can access, rather than as standalone interfaces that users navigate directly.
A broader rethink of mobile interaction
Pei’s comments reflect a growing conversation within the tech industry about the limits of the current smartphone paradigm.
While app-based ecosystems have dominated for over a decade, the rise of AI is prompting companies to reconsider how users interact with devices. The focus is shifting from interfaces designed for humans to systems designed to interpret and execute intent.
Whether that shift fully replaces apps or simply reshapes them remains uncertain.
What is clear is that companies like Nothing are positioning themselves early for a future where the primary interaction with a phone may not involve tapping icons at all.
What to watch next
As the industry explores this transition, several questions remain open.
Will users trust AI systems to act on their behalf without constant oversight?
Can developers adapt their services to be agent-compatible rather than interface-driven?
And will new hardware designs emerge to support this different interaction model?
For now, Pei’s prediction serves as both a warning and a roadmap.
The app era is not over yet. But according to one of the industry’s most outspoken founders, it may no longer define what comes next.
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