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STEPX Neo: The First AI-Native Phone That's All About the Agent

STEPX Neo: The First AI-Native Phone That's All About the Agent

What if your phone was designed for an AI, not just to run one? That's the question STEPX (Step Terminal) posed at its Shanghai keynote, where it launched the STEPX Neo—a device it calls the first large-model-native intelligent agent phone. Priced at 3,999 yuan, the Neo isn't just another smartphone with AI features; it's a full-stack rethinking of what a phone can be.

A Design That Looks Back to the Future

The Neo's exterior is a nod to retro-futurism, with a transparent mechanical back panel and five hidden Easter eggs that reference milestones in AI history. But the real story is in the sensors: a six-microphone array, a low-power audio perception chip, and the Whisper1.0 pickup algorithm give the phone an "auditory system" that can hear you in any environment. On the back, a MiniLED dot-matrix screen acts as a dynamic expression space—a second face for the AI agent living inside.

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The Brain: Step AOS 1.0 and a Split Personality

Under the hood, the Neo runs Step AOS 1.0, the first operating system built natively for intelligent agents. It keeps two separate memory domains—one for the user, one for the agent—and integrates long-term memory, task scheduling, and a security architecture that STEPX describes as "trustable, visible, controllable, and reversible." The AI itself relies on the Step large-model matrix, split between on-device and cloud processing. Simple commands and offline tasks stay local; complex planning and cross-app coordination get kicked to the cloud.

An Ecosystem That's Already Talking

STEPX isn't starting from scratch. The company introduced Step Studio, a natural-language development tool that opens up the phone's sensors, back screen, and protocols to developers. At the event, Bilibili creators showed off projects like a flight skateboard assistance system and a brain-computer interface that turns thoughts into speech. Meanwhile, the Step Amoo agent has already integrated with nearly 100 partners—Alipay, Tencent (WeChat Work, WeChat Reading), Xiaohongshu, Ctrip, Didi, Gaode, and Meituan—enabling AI payments and cross-agent collaborative editing.

Pricing and Availability: The Soft-Hard Bundle

The Neo comes in carbon black and silicon silver, priced at 3,999 yuan. That buys you 12 months of 10 billion tokens per month, plus a shot at a "Starship Ticket" for the first 10,000 users who meet certain task criteria—giving them the right to swap their 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

  • First AI-native phone: STEPX Neo is built around an intelligent agent, not just AI features.
  • Dual-screen design: Main screen plus a MiniLED dot-matrix back screen for agent expressions.
  • Step AOS 1.0: Separate user and agent memory domains, with strong security controls.
  • Hybrid AI: On-device for simple tasks, cloud for complex planning.
  • Developer-friendly: Step Studio opens sensors and protocols; early projects show promise.
  • Ecosystem ready: Nearly 100 partners including Alipay, Tencent, and Meituan.
  • Price: 3,999 yuan with 12 months of 10 billion tokens per month.