“The race for artificial intelligence in the smartphone market is gaining momentum. Deutsche Telekom and Perplexity are entering into a collaboration. And the Bonn-based company is starting with a competitive price.
The AI search engine Perplexity has just underscored its far-reaching ambitions with a €34.5 billion bid to acquire the Google Chrome browser, and another important milestone is on the horizon for the company.
Deutsche Telekom's AI Phone, which works primarily with Perplexity services, has been on sale since Thursday. Deutsche Telekom's Chief Technology Officer Claudia Nemat and Germany CEO Rodrigo Diehl unveiled the device on Thursday. Its software looks different from traditional app-based devices. The AI Phone starts up without any visible apps, with a magenta-colored phone interface. Questions asked by voice display information, such as shopping suggestions or translations of restaurant menus. Apps are still available, but they run in the background. You can swipe away the AI interface and then see apps as usual.
For the smartphone The Bonn-based company is aiming for the widest possible distribution: With a price of €149, Telekom aims to "democratize" artificial intelligence, as the two top managers explained. The price includes both the hardware and a limited-time professional version of Perplexity and other AI offerings.
Financial details of the collaboration were not initially disclosed. Telekom also remained tight-lipped about plans for future sales of the device. At least the low selling price, comparable to entry-level smartphones, suggests high target volumes.
The AI phone will be available through a wide range of sales channels, including Telekom shops, electronics retailers, and hypermarkets such as Media Markt and Saturn, as well as online. The Magenta Group is promoting the device as a "practical everyday helper." It helps with concerts, choosing clothes, office planning, plant care, etc. The price makes it "an AI phone for every budget": "This is how we connect Germany with AI."
According to the information, anyone can buy the device. You don't have to be a Telekom customer to use it, they say.
At the very least, the Bonn-based company intends to offer the smartphone for one euro, but then, as usual, with a longer-term phone contract with monthly payments.
Like most smartphones, the AI phone runs on Google's Android operating system, in this case version 15. Telekom promises three Android updates, as well as monthly Telekom updates and Google fixes for three years, "to guarantee our customers the highest level of security." Finally, software updates are planned every quarter in the fourth and fifth years.
The AI phone, with a 6.6-inch screen, Snapdragon processor, 50-megapixel camera, and 5,000 milliampere-hour battery, comes with the Perplexity assistant, among other AI photo tools from Picsart. Easy access to an AI assistant is intended to appeal primarily to people who have had little contact with artificial intelligence so far. For customers who don't want completely new hardware but want to continue using their existing smartphone, Telekom offers "Magenta AI" via the "Mein Magenta" customer app.
Telekom has been working on the AI Phone project for some time. Last year, the Bonn-based company presented the concept of an AI phone at the MWC mobile communications trade fair. This year, further details were announced: The days of the confusing app jungle are over, it was said at the time.
With its AI ambitions, Telekom is in a global race to find the best way to bring AI to smartphones. The two major mobile phone providers, Samsung and Apple, are also in the business with their own artificial intelligence offerings for their devices: Samsung with "Galaxy AI" and Apple with "Apple Intelligence." However, the competitive situation has recently been repeatedly characterized by planning delays.
In contrast to Telekom, other German mobile network operators have not yet launched their own AI developments. Vodafone, O2, and 1&1 emphasize the advantages of AI functions for handling, but point out that there are already major providers of smartphones and AI technology on the market.
In the spring, Telekom manager Nemat, speaking about her own plans in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, said that the AI phone is an innovation platform with many providers. No one else, except Telekom, has such a smartphone. "We're pretty excited about the device." Now it just needs customers to be excited, too.
A YouGov survey in July, however, revealed major gaps in AI understanding. When asked whether they were familiar with AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, Gemini, or Perplexity, only 15 percent of respondents answered yes. They also stated that they had already used AI agents. 24 percent had heard of them but hadn't yet used them.” [1]
1. Ein KI-Phone für 149 Euro. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung; Frankfurt. 15 Aug 2025: 25. Von Thiemo Heeg, Frankfurt
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