After a limited-edition prototype sold out in hours and hit 7,999 yuan on the secondary market, the second-generation Doubao AI phone is going mass-market.
ByteDance and ZTE’s Nubia brand are gearing up for a much bigger push into AI smartphones this year. According to supply chain sources, the companies plan to release multiple models of their Doubao AI agent phone in 2026, with the first one slated to debut at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai on July 17.
Total production for this first model is estimated at around 200,000 units, with an initial batch of fewer than 100,000 units. That’s a significant ramp-up from its predecessor — but it also represents a downward revision from earlier plans.
From 300,000 to 200,000: A supply chain reality check
Supply chain sources told Chinese media Jiemian that the initial production target for the second-generation Doubao phone was originally around 300,000 units. However, rising costs for upstream components forced the partners to scale back to roughly 200,000 units. Some component orders were initially placed at volumes exceeding one million pieces, but those numbers were subsequently adjusted multiple times as the overall production plan shifted.
The more conservative approach may reflect lessons learned from the first generation. The original Doubao phone — officially the Nubia M153 Technical Preview Edition — launched on December 1, 2025, with just 30,000 units available. Priced at 3,499 yuan (about $480), it was positioned as an engineering prototype rather than a mass-market device. The entire run sold out quickly, and the company never added more production.
That scarcity created a frenzy on the secondary market. Resale prices for the M153 reportedly peaked at 7,999 yuan — more than double the official retail price.
What’s different this time around
The second-generation model is being positioned as a “mass-produced flagship” rather than a technical preview, according to ZTE Senior Vice President and Nubia President Ni Fei. Nubia has already teased some design details: the new phone will feature a dedicated orange AI button and a blue chassis, with pink color option also confirmed.
On the software side, the device will run Obric UI 2.3.0.0 — an operating system that ByteDance has iterated more than 10 times over the 216 days since the first-generation M153 launched. The Doubao assistant has been updated to handle cross-app operations with granular permission controls, working with apps like Didi, JD.com and WeCom for Enterprise while blocking sensitive operations involving payments and account security.
Industry leaks suggest the new phone may carry a Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 processor, with the display supplier potentially shifting from Tianma to BOE and battery cells sourced from ATL through Desay’s management system.
The bigger picture: AI on device, not in the cloud
The Doubao phone represents a bet that on-device AI — rather than cloud-dependent features — will become the primary battleground in China’s smartphone market. Unlike standard Android phones that rely on cloud APIs for AI tasks, the Doubao device integrates a system-level AI agent that can read the phone’s screen and tap through interfaces the way a human finger would.
That approach has drawn both excitement and concern. On one hand, it enables capabilities like cross-app task automation — the phone can compare prices, book rides, and complete purchases autonomously. On the other, it has triggered fraud-detection systems across major apps. Banking apps and Alipay refused to cooperate with the first-generation prototype entirely, forcing ByteDance to disable access to financial apps and certain gaming scenarios.
The regulatory environment has also become more complex. On July 15, China’s new AI Companion Law took effect, prompting ByteDance to shut down Doubao’s personalized companion features and redirect users to a separate compliance-focused app.
Supply chain winners and market reaction
The production ramp is already generating downstream momentum. Sunny Optical has secured orders for the phone’s camera optics, including lens, main camera and telephoto modules. Goodix is supplying under-display fingerprint recognition, audio amplification and touch control components, while Maxic is providing wireless charging chips — the same supplier used in ByteDance’s previous AI phone collaboration with ZTE.
What’s next
Nubia has confirmed that the phone will debut at WAIC 2026, which opens July 17. Multiple models are expected to follow later this year. ZTE has not publicly responded to requests for comment on the production figures.
For ByteDance, whose Doubao AI assistant already reaches hundreds of millions of users, the phone extends its AI ecosystem into hardware. For ZTE and its Nubia sub-brand, it offers a chance to differentiate in a market dominated by Huawei, Xiaomi and Oppo. Whether the jump from 30,000 engineering prototypes to 200,000 production units is a smart bet or an overreach will depend on how well the device’s agent capabilities navigate both app ecosystems and regulatory requirements.