Chinese technology powerhouse ByteDance announced on Monday the launch of a new artificial intelligence-powered voice control tool. This innovative assistant will first make its appearance on a smartphone manufactured by ZTE Corporation before expanding to devices from other phone makers in the future.
Doubao-Powered Assistant Takes on Tech Giants
The new AI tool is driven by ByteDance's highly popular Doubao large language model. It enables users to perform various tasks through simple voice commands. These tasks include searching for specific content online and booking tickets for events or travel. This move directly positions ByteDance in competition with similar artificial intelligence features already introduced by major Chinese smartphone manufacturers like Huawei and Xiaomi.
Notably, Apple has not yet released its Apple Intelligence suite in the Chinese market. However, in a related development, Alibaba Group has stated it will collaborate with Apple to create AI features specifically for iPhones sold in China.
ZTE Partnership and Market Impact
The AI voice assistant will have its inaugural launch on the ZTE Nubia M153 handset. This device is currently in the prototype stage and carries a price tag of 3,499 yuan, which is approximately $495. The phone is available for pre-order, but only in limited quantities for now.
The announcement provided a significant boost to ZTE's market performance. Shares in ZTE jumped by 10% on Monday, reaching their highest value since October 29. This surge was attributed not only to the AI phone news but also to reports that ZTE secured a series of contracts to supply 5G network equipment in Vietnam.
ByteDance's Strategy and AI Dominance
In an official statement, ByteDance clarified that it has no intentions of developing its own smartphone hardware. Instead, the company is actively engaged in discussions with multiple phone manufacturers to integrate and roll out its AI voice assistant across their product lines.
ByteDance, the parent company of the global phenomenon TikTok and its Chinese counterpart Douyin, has established itself as a frontrunner in consumer AI applications within China. This leadership is largely due to the success of its chatbot, Doubao. According to data from the AI product tracking platform Aicpb.com, Doubao boasted an impressive 159 million monthly active users in October. This figure far surpasses the reach of competitors like Tencent's Yuanbao, which had 73 million users, and DeepSeek, with 72 million users during the same period.
