Banning Doubao Mobile Assistant might be a "collusion" among major internet companies.

In the end, it turns out that whether an AI phone can succeed actually has little to do with AI.

ByteDance joined hands with Nubia to redesign a smartphone based on large models, giving the highest-level permissions of the phone's underlying system to the "Doubao Phone Assistant", thus becoming a veritable "AI hardware".

However, just one day after its release, users couldn't log in to WeChat, with the reason being a security issue. Immediately afterwards, domestic super apps such as Pinduoduo, Taobao, Xianyu, Gaode, and Meituan also closed their doors to the Doubao phone.

A seemingly all - powerful AI phone is "powerless" in the face of all this.

From start to finish, it has nothing to do with AI

Both ByteDance and WeChat responded. The Doubao side said that the AI assistant's operation of the phone is a laboratory function and currently does not support operations on WeChat. WeChat stated that it did not take any extra actions specifically against Doubao, speculating that it was caught by WeChat's original risk - control measures.

As a national - level super app, WeChat does have security measures to deal with telecom fraud and script operations. It's understandable that the Doubao phone unfortunately stepped into this area.

However, it's also a fact that WeChat didn't make an exception for the new Doubao Phone Assistant.

Before the "blockade", the Doubao phone could access every corner of WeChat.

All of this has never been about AI. It's still the age - old battle over boundaries in the Internet world.

Large Internet companies in the Chinese market have been competing openly and secretly. In the past, it was the "BAT" competition. In recent years, Baidu has weakened, and ByteDance has risen to prominence.

Content platforms such as Douyin, Toutiao, Qishui Music, Hongguo Short Dramas, and Fanqie Novel, which can keep users engaged for long periods of time each day, have brought considerable pressure to Tencent's social and gaming ecosystems.

Now, under the guise of "user convenience", the Doubao Phone Assistant not only aims to save users' attention that would otherwise be consumed on WeChat but also directly enters WeChat's territory on behalf of ByteDance.

From this perspective, the Doubao phone is by no means a "perfect victim", and its "subversive" motivation is quite obvious. It's true that ByteDance is exploring the possibilities of AI interaction, but it cannot be ignored that the Doubao phone brings a brand - new way of using a phone and blurs the boundaries of the power of Internet platform giants.

Since the era of smartphones, apps have constituted the core experience of smartphones, guarding two precious resources: "entrances" and user data. Every time a user opens an app or accesses content, it creates additional value.

Just as WeChat is not just a simple chatting app, e - commerce platforms are not just transaction windows. Their dazzling interfaces are designed to keep users browsing for a few more minutes and to promote more products. If price comparisons are all left to the Doubao Assistant in the future, won't these elaborate showcases and promotions be left for only the AI to see?

The indifference of mobile phone manufacturers

The Doubao Phone Assistant is the first phone truly capable of "natural language interaction and overall control by an AI assistant".

This is also the direction that mobile phone manufacturers at home and abroad are exploring.

However, in this "AI vs Super App" war, mobile phone manufacturers have chosen to stand by. After all, they have Siri, Xiaoai, and Xiaoyi, so there's no need to use an outsider's model and assistant capabilities.

This is also the most embarrassing part of the Doubao phone. ByteDance's Doubao only develops large models and applications. It needs to cooperate with a mobile phone manufacturer for in - depth customization, embed the large - model capabilities into the underlying system, and obtain the necessary highest - level permissions to achieve the ideal of overall control.

Leading manufacturers have their own plans. Doubao had no choice but to cooperate with Nubia, and Meizu, which has a similar positioning, also extended an olive branch immediately because the cooperation would bring higher returns for them.

It should be emphasized again that the Doubao phone has always been a prototype, an "experiment". Although this experiment was quite successful technically, it "failed" commercially.

This controversy has served as a wake - up call for leading mobile phone manufacturers. If they also want to do something similar to the Doubao Phone Assistant, they need to think carefully about the next steps and how to deal with potential conflicts with national - level apps.

After all, they have already invested a lot in the similar capabilities of their own phone assistants. Now they find that a competitor who ran faster than them didn't reach the finish line but instead hit a wall.

If the experiences of the Doubao Phone Assistant in the past half - month tell us anything, it's that the trend of AI phones is irresistible, and apps that don't support AI will be eliminated in the future.

However, a prerequisite is that mobile phone brands, Internet giants, and AI manufacturers (the latter two are actually combined) are willing to put aside their differences and cooperate to drive industry change. Behind this, a reshuffle is inevitable.

The gap between ideal and reality

While manufacturers compete with each other, users vote with their feet.

The second - hand price is the best indicator of a product's popularity. The Doubao phone not only sold out instantly upon release but also saw its price on Xianyu soar from the original 3,499 yuan to five or six thousand, and even more than ten thousand yuan. Of course, it doesn't mean that the secondary market for the Doubao phone can really sustain this price. Instead, this sharp increase in price reflects users' enthusiasm for it, their confidence in its capabilities, and their high expectations for its future prospects.

Looking back at the time when the Doubao phone first came out and was considered "all - powerful", people were full of ideas and wanted to explore its usage boundaries: such as collecting energy in Ant Forest, removing ads, and even making money on Douyin Lite.

This is the real reaction of users after the birth of a "true AI hardware", as it has reshaped the interaction logic between users and platforms. In the past, users "served" these super apps and to some extent became slaves. With AI, although the fundamental relationship between users and platforms hasn't changed, at least users don't have to take care of these services and applications themselves.

However, just when the technology was proven feasible, the fragmentation among Internet companies has become another gap between ideal and reality, and there's no sign of a self - resolving solution in the short term.

Now the Doubao phone is facing obstacles everywhere. If it were a "Yuanbao phone" or a "Qianwen phone" trying to operate Douyin or Feishu, would ByteDance welcome them with open arms? I don't think so.

In the end, priorities matter. For these Internet giants, although they must develop AI technology, the most important thing is not to lose their own territory. Objectively, we can recognize that the Doubao Assistant has attempted to reconstruct interaction, but in essence, it is a sharp weapon for ByteDance to subvert super apps as traditional Internet entrances. It may even monopolize the "new entrance" to all services with its overall control ability.

After a week of discussions about the Doubao phone, I'm quite disappointed that the power struggle among Internet giants has attracted most of the attention, while the more valuable discussions about the technology and concept of the Doubao phone haven't received the traffic they deserve.

Is there a glimmer of hope? It probably depends on the vast user base.

This time, it's no longer just a battle between giants. Public opinion is also becoming a powerful force. After the Doubao phone was blocked by various platforms, its price remains high, and the comment section is full of users' voices of support.

Users have never been followers of big companies. We always know what's good in our hearts.

As I finish writing, I ask myself if I'm being too pessimistic and thinking too badly of Internet giants?

I don't want to be like this. Maybe when the Doubao Phone Assistant team developed this product, just like the iPhone team back then, they had a pure dream.

But since the Doubao phone was born under ByteDance, it's destined to be involved in this fierce battle of fragmentation. Even at the moment of its birth, it carried the "original sin" from the big company.

If it weren't born under ByteDance, if it were the "DeepSeek Phone Assistant", would the ending be different?

This article is from the WeChat official account "ifanr" (ID: ifanr). The author is the one who discovers tomorrow's products. It is published on 36Kr with authorization.