STEPX launches Neo, billed as first large-model-native agent phone, from ¥3,999
Shanghai-based terminal brand STEPX unveiled the STEPX Neo Pioneer Edition on Oct 13, describing it as the first large-model-native agent phone: a Snapdragon 8-series device with 16GB+256GB and a bundled “model + software + hardware” price of ¥3,999 covering the handset, Step AOS 1.0, Step Studio and the Step model family, with pre-orders starting that day and first sales on Oct 16. The phone centers on the Amoo personal agent and the agent-native Step AOS 1.0, which adds dual-domain memory for the user and the agent, task scheduling and a “trusted, visible, controllable, reversible” safety framework, while a six-microphone array, Whisper 1.0 pickup algorithm, low-power audio chip and a MiniLED dot-matrix rear screen handle sensing and feedback, and Edge on-device plus Pro/Flash cloud models split work by task. STEPX says Amoo is connected to roughly 100 partners including Alipay, Tencent (WorkBuddy, WeCom, WeRead), Ctrip, Didi, CapCut, Amap and Meituan, and that Step 5 Preview is free to try inside WorkBuddy until Oct 25; buyers get 12 months of 10 billion tokens per month, and the first 10,000 qualifying users receive a five-year zero-cost upgrade ticket.
Personal agents are becoming a key battleground for big tech, and STEPX Neo bundles models, OS and hardware into one price—an unusually complete attempt to ship that vision in China.