• Counterpoint and MediaTek jointly released a whitepaper defining Generative AI Phones.
• Though on-device large AI model is a must, Device+Cloud hybrid mode will be the mainstream for deploying generative AI on smartphones.
• Counterpoint expects the installed base of generative AI phones to exceed 12 billion by 2027.

The integration of generative AI technology is undoubtedly the main theme of the current and future development of the smartphone industry. It will open a new chapter in the evolution of smartphone intelligence and inject new momentum into the continued prosperity of the mobile internet ecosystem. In this context, Counterpoint and MediaTek, together with industry partners, have released the Generative AI Phone Industry Whitepaper which proposes the concept of generative AI phones and defines the necessary features of such devices.

• On-device or hybrid processing of foundational models: This enables the smartphone to perform complex generative AI tasks without relying solely on cloud-based servers.
• Multimodal capabilities: This allows the device to process text, images, voice and other forms of input to generate a variety of outputs, with use cases such as translations, image generation and video generation.
• A user experience that is fluid and seamless: This enables the device to provide natural interactions and intuitive responses to the user's inputs and requests.
• Hardware specifications that are capable of supporting the above capabilities: These include but are not limited to a processor built on the latest process node designed to undertake AI workload leveraging integrated or standalone neural network processing units (such as APU/NPU/TPU), large memory capacity with high bandwidth, stable and high-speed connectivity options, and hardware-level and software-level security solutions.

Counterpoint’s Definition of Generative AI Phone

Source: Counterpoint Research

The whitepaper also delves into the ecosystem of generative AI phones, discussing the AI strategies of various stakeholders, including chip vendors, smartphone OEMs, large AI model providers, and application developers, as well as the technology landscape of both hardware and software for generative AI phones. It also presents Counterpoint's predictions on the development of generative AI phones. Counterpoint expects the installed base of generative AI phones to exceed 1 billion by 2027 as generative AI technology achieves widespread adoption. This rapid increase is the result of powerful mobile computing platforms, a rich array of AI models of varying sizes, a complete set of supporting tools, and the active exploration and ever-increasing applications of AI by various industry stakeholders.

Generative AI Phone Installed Base Forecast

(In Million Units)

Source: Counterpoint Research