In October 2024, Elon Musk appeared at an election rally in Pennsylvania, and there stated that “The idea of making a mobile phone makes me want to die” because it was “a lot of work”, but then he added that “if we have to make a mobile phone, we will do it.” And that’s what seems to be happening.
Prototype in progress. As indicated in The Wall Street JournalSpaceX has shown some investors a prototype shaped like a mobile phone, but designed to change the way we interact with AI. The design would be thinner than that of an iPhone, it would run on its own operating system and would integrate technology from xAI, Musk’s artificial intelligence company. The tycoon, yes, denied such rumors in Reuters a day later.
The chip is made by Qualcomm. Although SpaceX controls a good part of its entire technological ecosystem, there will be necessary alliances here for a good set of components. The most important of course is the SoC, which according to WSJ will currently be manufactured by Qualcomm.
They may release it, they may not.. The company has warned investors that the project is in a very early phase, which means that the design of some of the components will end up changing if the idea finally materializes. Of course: it is not even certain that the device will ever be manufactured.
Starlink as a mobile operator. SpaceX indicated at the end of June that is preparing the launch of a mobile data service that would take advantage of its Starlink platform. This satellite internet service already allows internet access, for example in rural areas, but Gwynne Shotwell, president of SpaceX, indicated to investors that it is considering launching a traditional mobile operator service.
More and more rumors. Although Musk denied the news, rumors about a potential mobile device are accumulating. In February Reuters indicated that SpaceX was preparing “a mobile device connected to its Starlink satellite internet constellation that could compete with smartphones.” This mobile phone would not only take advantage of said service, but also xAI’s AI model, Grok, thus reinforcing the ecosystem proposed by Elon Musk with his companies.
Apple has too much power. In WSJ they indicated that Musk had already considered creating his own smartphone in the past although he also showed his reluctance about it. The main reason for making your own mobile: become independent from an Apple which according to Musk has too tight control over third-party apps like X.
Go for the super app. The underlying idea of the device is not so much to have your own mobile phone as to have a way to boost a potential super app. This idea has been considered for a long time by Musk’s company, which here is trying to have an “application for everything” as is the case with WeChat or AliPay in China. The difference is the role of AI in this device, which would be central to the entire experience.
SpaceX is not alone in the AI hardware race. Attempts to propose alternatives to current mobile phones have been underway for some time, but for now this “gadget with AI” that manufacturers aspire to is still not working out. Both the Humane AI Pin like the Rabbit R1 They failed completely in the market, but now there are several companies with that ambition: Go with your glasses and OpenAI with its mysterious device in collaboration with Jony Ive They are two good examples. It remains to be seen what the result of these efforts is, because for now one thing is certain: the smartphone remains unrivaled.
Image | Heisenberg Media
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings