The development of AI-powered apps is really taking off, and smartphone makers don’t seem to intend to take advantage of Bandwagon.
Now, by building on all playgrounds, widgets like flight trackers, next meeting overviews, or virtual pets use text prompts to customize existing apps on the essential app platform for purposes. More technical users can change the code and fine-tune how the app works.
The technology is not mature enough now, so developers are not yet able to build full-screen apps.
The launch of Vibe-Coding comes just a few weeks later, as nothing raised $200 million in the round led by Tiger Global. At the time, CEO Carl Pei said the company did not want to develop new AI-centric devices as well as build an operating system with AI-powered capabilities.
In a conversation with TechCrunch last week, PEI said that smartphone makers are reluctant to change their software.
“What has always bothered me is why we don’t improve our software. A lot of people see what big companies like Apple are doing and that’s a safer path. I think software iterations are very slow,” says Pei.
“We believe that with AI breakthroughs, the operating system will change and become more personal. Our devices have so much context for us, but that is not leveraged right now,” he added.
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That said, nothing has launched a single AI-enabled app so far. Essential space allows users to share screenshots, record audio notes, and obtain transcriptions of meetings. It is worth noting that most modern smartphone operating systems today can do all of that. If not, nothing will prevent users from installing AI apps on their phones.
Nothing has given itself a name as a smartphone maker, but it is still a small company compared to Google, Huawei, Oppo, Xiaomi, OnePlus, Apple, Samsung and more. According to data from Analytics Firm IDC, the company has a share of less than 1% of the global smartphone market.
However, Pay feels that nothing is advantageous. He previously said that the company wants to build hardware specifically to use AI, and that it would be easier to build hardware in a specific use case if it can be properly retrieved on a smartphone.
Vibe coding is promising on paper, but so far, data from analytics company AppGua has revealed that apps that have attempted to offer similar features on smartphones, primarily due to security and maintenance concerns, have not been dropped. PEI acknowledged this and said it will continue to be important to maintain security while allowing developers to create apps.
“We have millions of users on our devices. So whatever we ship should be easy to use and difficult to make mistakes. So it’s important to maintain a level of security with these apps,” he said.
At this time, the company has not charged these AI tools, and the paid class does not appear to be currently in work. PEI said it is focused on building a vibrant community around new tools and recognizing people who make good contributions.
