Deutsche Telekom showcases appless AI smartphone concept at MWC 2024

Deutsche Telekom on Monday showed off a futuristic smartphone concept that relies on artificial intelligence rather than applications (apps) to address users’ specific needs.

Smartphones today typically use apps for everything from messaging and social media to video games and banking.

The German company said the concept it demonstrated on its “T-phone” device will have an app-free user interface developed in collaboration with partners Qualcomm and Brain.

“I can tell you that in 5-10 years, none of us will be using apps anymore,” CEO Tim Hoetges said in a keynote presentation at the MWC technology conference in Barcelona.

Examples of what the phone can do include responding to prompts and generating personalized travel destination recommendations, purchasing a product for its owner or sending photos and videos to contacts, the company said in a presentation.

“The product on display reflects Deutsche Telekom’s belief that multi- and cross-modal large language models (LLM) will soon become an integral part of devices, improving and simplifying the lives of its customers,” added Deutsche Telekom.

Technology and telecommunications companies are launching new products and concepts at the annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, ​​hoping the buzz around AI will improve business prospects. Many experts say the technology could raise legal and ethical issues.

© Thomson Reuters 2024