Nothing CEO Carl Pei says smartphone apps will disappear as AI agents take their place

Nothing CEO and co-founder Carl Pei has made a bold prediction at the SXSW conference: the era of smartphone apps is ending. He argues the current model—lock screens, home screens, and app stores—hasn't evolved in 20 years and is 'very old-school.' Instead, Pei envisions an 'AI-first' device where proactive agents understand long-term user intentions (like getting healthier) and execute complex tasks seamlessly. For example, arranging coffee with a friend would no longer require manually juggling a messaging app, maps, Uber, and a calendar; the AI would handle it all. This vision of frictionless, intention-based computing helped Nothing secure $200 million in Series C funding last year.

Pei outlined a progression from today's 'super boring' command-based AI assistants to a future where the system 'knows us so well, it will come up with things we don't even know we wanted.' Crucially, he states that for this to work, we must stop forcing AI to use human-designed interfaces (tapping through menus). The future requires building entirely new interfaces specifically for AI agents to operate. While Nothing's current OS still supports apps, Pei warns founders that if their core value lies in an app, they will be disrupted. The shift is from a world of apps you navigate to one of agents that act on your behalf.