STEPX Neo: The AI Phone That Wants to Be Your Sidekick

What if your phone wasn't just smart, but actually intelligent? That's the bet STEPX is making with its first "large model-native" phone, the STEPX Neo. Launched at a Shanghai event, the Neo starts at 3,999 yuan and aims to blend hardware, software, and AI into one seamless experience.

Design: Retro-Futuristic with a Twist

The Neo's look is best described as retro-futuristic. The back panel has a transparent mechanical vibe, and there are five Easter eggs hidden for AI history buffs. But the real head-turner is the dual-screen setup: a main display plus an independent MiniLED dot-matrix back screen. Think of it as the phone's "face"—it displays dynamic expressions for the AI agent, giving it a bit of personality.

Hearing and Speaking: The Sensory Organs

STEPX didn't skimp on sensory hardware. A six-microphone array, a low-power audio perception chip, and the Whisper1.0 sound pickup algorithm work together as the phone's auditory system. So it's not just listening—it's understanding.

Under the Hood: Step AOS 1.0 and the Brain

The Neo runs Step AOS 1.0, the first operating system built for an intelligent agent. It juggles long-term memory, task scheduling, and a security architecture that's "trustable, visible, controllable, and reversible." Memory is split into a "user domain" and an "agent domain," keeping things organized.

The real muscle comes from the Step large model matrix, which uses a terminal-cloud collaboration. Simple commands and offline tasks run on the device, while complex planning and cross-app coordination happen in the cloud. It's like having a personal assistant who knows when to think locally and when to call in the cavalry.

Developer Playground: Step Studio

STEPX isn't keeping the ecosystem to itself. It introduced Step Studio, a natural-language development tool for AI-native terminals, and opened up sensor, back screen, and protocol capabilities. At the event, Bilibili creators showed off projects like a flight skateboard assistance system and a brain-computer interface that turns thoughts into speech. The Step Amoo agent also integrates with nearly 100 partners—Alipay, WeChat Work, Xiaohongshu, Ctrip, Didi, Gaode, Meituan—enabling AI payments and cross-agent collaborative editing.

Pricing and Availability

The Neo comes in carbon black and silicon silver, priced at 3,999 yuan. Buyers get 12 months of 10 billion tokens per month. And for the first 10,000 users who meet certain criteria, there's a "Starship Ticket"—a chance to swap the current model for a new STEPX terminal at zero cost within five years. Pre-sales began on the evening of October 13, with official sales starting October 16.

Key Points

• STEPX Neo is a large model-native phone priced at 3,999 yuan.
• Dual-screen design includes a MiniLED dot-matrix back screen for AI expressions.
• Step AOS 1.0 is the first agent-native OS with dual-domain memory and security.
• Terminal-cloud collaboration handles local and complex tasks efficiently.
• Step Studio empowers developers; ecosystem includes ~100 partners.
• Pre-sales started Oct 13; official sale Oct 16.