Here's what an AI-first phone might look like
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hello, and welcome to The Verge Cast, the flagship podcast of 5G Connections. I'm your friend, David Pearce, and today on the show, we're gonna talk about phones, kind of.
What is an “AI-first” phone and why are OpenAI, SpaceX, and Amazon building them?
We're gonna talk about this new set of AI devices that appear to be coming for us that are not phones, at least the companies who are making them claim that they're not phones, but they seem to be a lot like phones. They're AI-centric, they are in some cases made by companies who want you to use their AI products, And they're trying desperately to unseat the smartphone while seemingly discovering that the only way to do that is to make a smartphone. David Amell, who's with The Verge this summer, is going to come on and we're going to talk through what OpenAI, SpaceX, and Amazon, and potentially many others are up to, and whether any of them can build anything that isn't a smartphone that actually makes you replace your smartphone.
All that's coming in just a second, but first, here's what else is happening on The Verge today. This is 90 Seconds on The Verge for Monday, July 27th, 2026. A bunch of big AI companies, including Nvidia, Microsoft, SpaceX, IBM, and a whole host of others, are creating a new group called the Open Secure AI Alliance. It comes after Nvidia CEO Jensen Wang shared an open letter last week arguing in favor of open models in general. It became a whole thing over the weekend who signed that letter and who didn't. That particular drama isn't all that interesting. But the US AI industry is clearly concerned with how fast China's AI is improving, and in part it's improving that fast because its models are so much more open.
That means some big questions are left to answer about how we build and share AI going forward. Meanwhile, it appears Amazon is gearing up to start competing for real with Starlink for satellite internet supremacy. It filed an FCC application over the weekend to deploy 5,105 new satellites starting in 2028 and said it plans to partner with mobile carriers to offer direct-to-satellite service, kind of like Starlink does with T-Mobile right now. Right now, Amazon's Leo service is way behind Starlink, way behind. But the company bought Global Stars Network earlier this year and has said it intends to offer its own service going forward. There's even been a rumor recently that Amazon might be building a phone again.
I wonder if those things are connected. And finally, The Verge's Antonio DiBenedetto just dropped his review of the Framework Laptop 13 Pro, which is frankly one of the most exciting things to happen to Windows PCs this year. It's modular, it's repairable, it has good battery life and performance and almost everything else you would want. It is also, thanks to the ongoing RAM shortage, $3,100. That's up 800 bucks since it was announced just in April. Ramageddon comes first on. You can read more about all this at theverge.com. That is 90 Seconds of The Verge for Monday, July 27th.
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All right, let's talk phones that aren't phones. David Amell is here. Hey, buddy. Hello. The Verge is David Amell. Waveform's David Amell. David Amell.com's David Amell.
That's right.
Just the David Amell. He's here. Right. Good to have you back. So I've brought you here to talk about phones. but not actually to talk about phones.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:02–0:10
2
What is an “AI-first” phone and why are OpenAI, SpaceX, and Amazon building them?
0:10–18:02
3
How might an AI-centric device replace the app-based smartphone model?
18:02–23:14
4
What would an OpenAI ChatGPT-forward phone likely look and operate like?
23:14–25:25
5
How could intent-based AI interfaces change everyday phone interactions?
25:25–37:34