Apps are the soul of smartphones, arguably. However, there could come a time when apps won’t matter. Nothing Technology CEO Carl Pei says that smartphone apps will be replaced by AI agents.
He is envisioning smartphones with AI agents doing the work of apps. And he is terse in his wild idea.
“In terms of AI in software, I think people should understand that apps are going to disappear,” said Pei, whose consumer electronics brand makes unique smartphones and other accessories. “So, if you’re a founder or a startup and your app is like where the core value lies, that will be disrupted whether you like it or not.”
The Nothing phone leader made the statement in an interview at the SXSW conference on March 18, 2026.
Smartphone without Apps is an innovative Nothing pitch
Nothing has pitched the idea of smartphones without apps for a while now. He said that some companies are already testing an AI feature where the AI can run a command on users’ behalf. Then he talked of the AI’s personalized behavior for the user. For example, if one is into sports, it would provide information on sporting updates as the user wants.
“I think it gets even more powerful when it starts surfacing suggestions for you; you don’t have to manually come up with an idea…when the system knows us so well, it will come up with things that we don’t even [know] we wanted,” Pei explained, comparing this concept to something like ChatGPT’s memory feature.
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From old-school to an AI-first phone
Carl Pei teased that an app-less smartphone would be the one without needing user command to run tasks.
“The current way we use phones is very old-school. It’s pre-iPhone…there used to be Palm Pilots and PDAs back in the day. And if you think about the user experience, it’s still very similar,” Pei said. “You have lock screens, home screens, and apps. You browse different apps. Each app is like a full-screen thing. There’s some kind of app store that allows you to download more apps. So it hasn’t really changed for like, 20 years.”
He wants tasks to be time-efficient and intuitive. He said that grabbing a coffee would require using four apps- a messaging app, maps, Uber, and calendar. So, he aspires for a time when the smartphone powered by AI understands the user and would do the task itself.
“It should just do it through AI,” he said.
But, wait. Apps won’t go away just like that
Pei cautions that apps won’t go away in the near future. Currently, phone makers are unlocking more of the AI’s powers on smartphones. Nothing allows users to use AI to create widgets and personalize a bit on the phone. Samsung also plans to bring Vibe coding to its upcoming Galaxy phones. But Pei is of the opinion that AI will need to use the app, but not try to mimic humans.
“You need to create an interface for the agent to use. I think that’s the more future-proof way of doing it,” Pei said.
So, while apps continue to be arguably the most essential part of using smartphones, AI could change that in the distant future. Are you excited for that? Do share in the comments below.
