Deutsche Telekom also presents the KI Phone – as a Magenta app
Thanks to numerous partners such as Perplexity, Google and Eleven Labs, Deutsche Telekom is now actually launching an AI phone on the market.
The AI Phone from Telekom.
(Image: Deutsche Telekom)
At the last MWC in Barcelona, Telekom presented the idea of an AI phone. Because it was so well received, the company decided to get serious. This year, Deutsche Telekom is actually presenting an AI phone. However, it consists of functions that are almost all also available in the Magenta app – for people who don't want to buy a new smartphone, Telekom writes in a press release.
Deutsche Telekom and Perplexity have been working together for some time. So it's no wonder that Perplexity is also integrated into the KI Phone. According to Telekom, the AI search engine can be accessed directly via the lock screen and by double-tapping the power button. The assistant can then compose emails for you, start phone calls and play music as well as make calendar entries and summarize texts. Of course, these days an AI announcement should not fail to mention that it can also book a table in a restaurant for you. Translations are also possible in real time. However, there is no longer any talk of Natural, an interface that should be able to learn the tasks of other applications. This concept seems to have become obsolete.
Google also presented its new functions for the Gemini app at the MWC. It can now switch languages in the middle of a conversation. The service also has visual capabilities, so you can talk to the assistant about what you see. Google Cloud AI is also available on the AI Phone – It is not entirely clear which Google functions will be available as a result. Deutsche Telekom writes that thanks to Google, you can also have natural conversations with your phone and videos can be understood thanks to Gemini's Multimodal Live API.
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Services from Eleven Labs and Picsart are also available on Deutsche Telekom's AI Phone and in the Magenta app. Eleven Labs specializes in voice AI, while Picsart is an image editing tool that can be used to create your own avatars, for example.
The smartphone is set to be launched on the market in the second half of 2025. Claudia Nemat, Board Member for Technology and Innovation at Deutsche Telekom, is delighted that the AI Phone and the Magenta app will eliminate the need to switch apps to complete a task. "This is the future of AI innovation for consumers."
(emw)
