AI Agents Will Replace Smartphone Apps, Says Nothing CEO Carl Pei

Nothing CEO Carl Pei at SXSW predicted that smartphone apps will disappear as AI agents take over. He argues the current app-first interface is “old-school,” forcing users to move through lock screens, home screens, and multiple apps to complete simple tasks. As an example, arranging a coffee meetup today may require messaging, maps, rideshare, and calendar apps. Pei says an AI agent could understand context and preferences and orchestrate those steps autonomously—shifting from manual execution to intention-driven automation. Pei distinguishes between “boring” single-task automation (already emerging, e.g., booking) and long-term intention learning, where AI proactively surfaces suggestions and schedules actions over time—similar to ChatGPT-style memory concepts. He also emphasized a key UI change: “create an interface for the agent,” meaning new APIs and systems that let AI access services without relying on human touch-style interfaces. Nothing is positioning its product roadmap around this AI-first direction, citing a $200 million Series C funding round to build the hardware and software needed for a trusted agent experience. Pei expects a gradual transition: AI agents may initially act as a layer over existing apps before becoming agent-first, reducing the visible role of traditional app icons. The article notes broader industry momentum from Google, Apple, and Samsung, and highlights hurdles: privacy/security, business model disruption to the app economy, technical reliability for multi-step execution, and user trust.