Deutsche Telekom is building a new Perplexity chatbot-powered “AI Phone,” the companies announced at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona today. The new device will be revealed later this year and run “Magenta AI,” which gives users access to Perplexity Assistant, Google Cloud AI, ElevenLabs, Picsart, and a suite of AI tools.
The AI phone concept was first revealed at MWC 2024 by Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile’s parent company) as an “app-less” device primarily controlled by voice that can do things like book flights and make restaurant reservations. The capabilities are like those promised by “large action model” products, including the Rabbit R1. In a press release, Deutsche Telekom board member Claudia Nemat says the forthcoming AI phone with Perplexity Assistant can book a taxi and do your shopping without having to switch apps on your phone.
Some of the AI tools, including Perplexity’s AI-powered search engine, will also be available on other devices using the MeinMagenta app (Perplexity also recently launched an Android app for its assistant). Deutsche Telekom hasn’t said much else about the AI phone hardware, but the images show something of a budget to midrange Android device with thick forehead and chin bezels, as well as a pink sleep / wake button.
Deutsche Telekom plans to launch its AI phone in the second half of this year. And this summer, the company will add some of the AI features from Google Cloud AI, ElevenLabs, and Picsart into the MeinMagenta app, which works with other smartphones.
