2,000 Yuan Cheaper Than Doubao Phone: StepFun Takes On ByteDance

StepFun officially launched the StepX Neo agent smartphone on October 13 at 3,999 yuan, 2,000 yuan less than ByteDance's Doubao agent phone (5,999 yuan) released in September. Along with it, StepFun unveiled the STEPX Token Plan, giving users free monthly tokens in the tens of billions. Pre-sales began that night on JD, Tmall, and Douyin, with official sales on October 16. The phone emphasizes voice interaction with six microphones, along with lightweight design and appearance. StepFun claims an open ecosystem, partnering with nearly 100 firms including Alipay, Tencent, Ctrip, Didi, Amap, and Meituan, with its built-in personal agent Amoo intended to perform tasks across multiple apps. However, in a hands-on test, the phone failed to complete a relatively simple request to order a cake and deliver it to a hotel, returning to a previous task instead. Staff said the product is at version 1.0, with app compatibility and system stability still being improved. Reviewers note that unlike chatbots, agent phones execute real transactions, so failures force users to double-check or take over. It remains unclear why consumers should pay 3,999 yuan for a device whose agent capabilities are still maturing. The two companies also differ in strategy: ByteDance partnered with ZTE to add Doubao capabilities to existing hardware, while StepFun built its own device brand, 'StepFun Terminal', and entered hardware directly. With a much smaller user base than ByteDance, StepFun appears to be using the lower price to attract early adopters and gather real-world usage data.