Nothing

Nothing CEO Carl Pei says ‘apps are going to disappear’ in the AI future of your phone

Ben Schoon | Mar 19 2026 - 1:30 pm PT

Speaking at SXSW, Nothing CEO Carl Pei reiterated his thoughts on the future of the smartphone experience, saying that “apps are going to disappear.”

AI, whether you like it or not, is a thing, and it’s playing a huge role in the future of smartphones. And, from the sound of it, Nothing CEO Carl Pei has some big ideas for what’s in store for the future of the smartphone experience.

Pei’s big pitch? A world where you don’t use apps, and AI agents do everything for you behind the scenes.

He explains:

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…in terms of AI in software, I think people should understand apps are going to disappear. If you’re a founder or a startup and your app is where your core value lies, that will be disrupted, whether you like it or not. If you have a very strong brand or very strong distribution, you could delay it by a little bit, but otherwise, I would advise everybody to think differently.

For instance, if the future is going to be agents doing things for you, and if you have an app, why not open up the API or the MCP so that agents can use it, frictionless? I’ve seen on smartphones that some companies are trying to mimic the human touch on smartphones. So you have an AI agent that’s trying to click like Uber and enter on the keyboard the address you’re going to go to. That’s not the future. The future is not the agent using a human interface. You need to create an interface for the agent to use. I think that’s the more future-proof way of doing it.

Pei has commented on this before, saying about a year ago that he believes “the entire phone will only have one app—and that will be the OS.” Nothing, as a company, is working towards that idea with a focus on building out its own “AI-native devices” and efforts such as Essential Apps, which allow users to build homescreen widgets that, in an ideal setting, might be able to replace the use of a full app.

The “some companies” he refers to here is also clearly talking about Google’s recent launch of screen automation on Gemini, which allows the AI assistant to take over select apps, such as Uber, to prepare rides or orders in the background which you can then finish manually.

Previously, Pei admitted that a future without apps could take “7-10 years” because “people love using apps.” This time around, he expands saying that he thinks the smartphone will still exist at least five years from now, “but I do think the operating system will change significantly,” and that there will be “new devices” alongside our phones.

The interview went on to touch on Pei’s definition of “flagship,” which he describes as “a showcase of your most creative ideas.” He further added that Nothing is going to “take the US seriously” in terms of phones with possible carrier talks, but that the US is Nothing’s biggest audience for audio products.

The full interview can be viewed below.