Behind ByteDance's Doubao Second-Gen Phone: ZTE and ByteDance's Mutual Collaboration

On July 16, Nubia, a subsidiary of ZTE, took the wraps off the NaviX Ultra—billed as the world’s first 'smart agent phone' equipped with ByteDance’s Doubao AI assistant. A stark departure from the first-gen Doubao phone launch, where ByteDance played a more visible role, the tech giant chose to stay largely behind the scenes this time, a move possibly rooted in the regulatory challenges the first model faced.

A former ByteDance employee shared that the second-gen Doubao phone has an initial production run of 300,000 to 500,000 units, with hardware components ready a month prior, pending only compliance approval from China’s internet regulators. Their wait ended on July 15, when the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) included the Nubia Doubao Phone Large Model—applied for by Shanghai Shenqi Jiyuan Intelligent Terminal Co., Ltd., a fully owned ZTE subsidiary—on its list of 7 approved mobile-side generative AI services. The Doubao Phone Assistant also completed filing with the Beijing Cyberspace Administration the same day.

Unlike the first-gen Doubao phone, which enjoyed an early lead in the AI phone space, the second-gen model now faces fierce competition. The CAC’s approval list includes AI features from industry heavyweights: Apple’s AI (integrating Alibaba’s Qwen model), Huawei’s Xiaoyi AI Model, vivo’s Blue Heart End-Side Model, Xiaomi’s Surge AI, and Samsung’s Galaxy AI. This crowded landscape means the NaviX Ultra will have to fight for market share against established players.

The first-gen Doubao phone, launched as a limited-edition engineering prototype, sold out quickly and was even resold for over 10,000 yuan on second-hand platforms. However, it soon faced bans from major apps like WeChat and Alipay, leading to a price crash. Interestingly, ByteDance’s internal response to the controversy was positive—seeing it as a sign of the company’s growing visibility in the hardware sector. This led to the formation of a dedicated Doubao phone project team, which recruited talent from top manufacturers, including Lin Xi, a former Huawei executive who led the hardware development of the Pura X foldable phone (which recorded 1.2 million pre-orders in 48 hours and 100,000 activations in its first week). Lin joined ByteDance in 2026 to oversee the Doubao phone’s hardware planning and development, reporting directly to Kayden (Liu Chengcheng), head of the Ocean team.

For ZTE, the collaboration with ByteDance is a critical chance to regain its footing in the mobile market. Once a top global player (with 65 million units shipped in 2012, including 35 million smartphones), ZTE now falls into the 'others' category in sales rankings. ByteDance, on the other hand, struggled to secure partnerships with leading brands like OPPO, Honor, or Samsung—making ZTE a pragmatic choice for its AI phone ambitions.

Whether ZTE can use this collaboration to rebound or ByteDance can carve a sustainable niche in the hardware space remains an open question, but the second-gen Doubao phone’s launch marks a key step for both companies.

Sources

• Huxiu: http://www.huxiu.com/article/4875858.html
• WeChat Public Account: 'Let the Internet Fly for a While' (Author: Daguanying's Star)
• Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily
• Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC)公告, July 15, 202X
• Beijing Cyberspace Administration