StepFun

AI Hardware · Smartphones · China Tech

Launch

StepFun launches STEPX Neo, an AI-agent-native phone for $597

The startup is wagering that owning the operating system, not just the AI model, is the real lever for controlling how people use agents.

• StepFun unveiled the STEPX Neo in Shanghai on Oct. 13, 2026, calling it the first large-model-native 'agent phone'; preorders opened immediately at 3,999 yuan (about $597), with sales starting Oct. 16.
• StepFun is a Chinese large-model developer; STEPX Neo is the debut hardware product from its device arm, Step Terminal, built around a personal AI agent called Amoo.
• The phone runs Step AOS 1.0, a custom operating system with 'dual-domain memory' for user preferences and agent task knowledge, plus a device-cloud split where simple commands run locally and complex tasks are planned in the cloud.
• Hardware includes a Snapdragon 8-series chip, 16GB RAM, 256GB storage, a six-microphone array for voice pickup, and a rear MiniLED display dedicated to showing the agent's status.
• Buyers get 10 billion AI tokens per month for 12 consecutive months, and Amoo has integrated with nearly 100 partners including Alipay, Tencent, Meituan, Didi and Ctrip at launch.
• StepFun said in July it would keep supplying its AI models to other phone makers even as it built its own device, pursuing both a platform and a hardware strategy simultaneously.
• By building its own OS rather than layering an assistant onto Android, StepFun is testing whether an AI model company can bypass phone-maker gatekeepers to control the agent-device relationship directly.