Deutsche Telekom is looking to increase AI accessibility and adoption by launching two new devices in partnership with Perplexity AI.
Through Perplexity Assistant, the T Phone 3 and T Tablet 2 devices support functions including real-time translation, trip planning, tutoring, email drafting, content summarisation and image editing. Users can activate the AI tool through a magenta button on the hardware or by double-tapping the power key, using either voice or text input.
In addition, the new models sport hardware upgrades such as faster charging, AI-enhanced camera tools and improved sustainability credentials. For all consumers who do not purchase a new smartphone, the operator’s Magenta AI service, integrated into the MeinMagenta app, offers free access to selected AI tools such as Perplexity’s answer engine and an image editor powered by Picsart.
The app-based offering aims to expand AI accessibility and provide customers with “compact access to various AI services and allow them to explore this technology first-hand,” said Claudia Nemat, Board Member for Technology and Innovation at Deutsche Telekom.
In Germany, the AI-phone is available from €149 while the AI-tablet starts at €199, with bundle offers reducing both devices to €1 each when purchased alongside a tariff. An 18-month subscription to Perplexity Pro and a three-month Picsart Pro licence are included in the purchase. Prices vary across the other nine launch markets, including Austria, Croatia, Czechia, Greece and Hungary.
A Pro version of the AI-phone is scheduled to launch later this year.
Deutsche Telekom first teased an AI-driven, app-free smartphone at MWC Barcelona 2024, in partnership with Qualcomm and Brain.ai.
In its latest announcement, the operator cited data from the IDC forecasting that generative AI smartphones are on track to account for 70 per cent of global shipments by 2028, driven by demand for features such as translation and advanced camera functions.
Source: Mobile World Live
Image Credit: Deutsche Telekom
