Generative AI (GenAI) is emerging as a major trend in the tech industry, finding its way into the latest smartphones and PCs. However, on-device AI has been around for a few years now, and there is some confusion regarding the definition of a smartphone with AI and a GenAI smartphone.
Counterpoint Research defines a GenAI smartphone as a mobile device that leverages large-scale, pre-trained generative AI models to create original content or perform context-aware tasks. We expect such devices to have multimodal capabilities, allowing them to process text, image, voice and other inputs to generate a variety of output and enable a user experience that is fluid and seamless. We also expect the hardware specifications of such devices to evolve as the technology advances. But at present, a device should have hardware capabilities that are comparable to or exceed the performance of current flagship smartphones to effectively run GenAI models.
While GenAI technology appears promising, there are several questions in the industry. GenAI phones will need powerful hardware to run those large language models (LLMs), faster processing for inferencing, and more storage. Will these upgrades weigh on the smartphone pricing? Will GenAI phones cost more than regular phones? Could GenAI be the factor that will drive smartphone upgrades? We try to answer all these questions in this podcast.
In this latest episode of ‘The Counterpoint Podcast’, host Mohit Agrawal is joined by Tarun Pathak, Research Director at Counterpoint Research, to talk about GenAI smartphones. We discuss our definition of GenAI smartphones, potential impact on pricing and upgrade cycle, role of chipmakers, OEM strategies and our forecast. In this discussion, we also touch upon hardware requirements, ecosystem players that are driving GenAI experiences, regional differences and much more.
Click the play button to listen to the podcast
You can read the podcast transcript here.
Podcast chapter markers
01:00 – Tarun defines how smartphones with AI features are different from GenAI smartphone.
05:19 – Tarun talks about LLMs and how Counterpoint is defining them with respect to GenAI experiences.
08:15 – How could hardware requirements for GenAI affect smartphone pricing? Tarun explains.
12:05 – Tarun weighs in on whether GenAI can drive smartphone upgrades and shorten replacement cycles.
15:50 – Apple is currently missing from the GenAI space, but what to look forward to with the upcoming WWDC developer conference.
18:14 – Tarun talks about the role of ecosystem players, from chipmakers to smartphone OEMs and developers, and what they are doing in the GenAI space.
22:35 – Can GenAI experiences differ from one region to another, to cater to local audience? Tarun weighs in on regional efforts.
24:30 – Tarun talks about Counterpoint’s forecast with respect to GenAI smartphones.
