Nothing’s Carl Pei thinks the app era is ending — here’s what comes next

Carl Pei described a shift from app-based smartphone experiences to AI agents, carl Pei spoke at SXSW 2026 in Austin and described a shift away from apps toward AI agents.

Nothing is moving to build system-level AI into its devices, nothing is exploring ways to embed AI more deeply into its devices as the main experience.

Smartphones use dozens or hundreds of apps each with separate interfaces and logins, modern smartphones rely on many separate applications with individual interfaces and logins.

SXSW 2026 served as the event where Pei outlined the change, pei presented his views at SXSW 2026, indicating the timeframe of the statement.

AI agents would handle end-to-end tasks like booking rides, shopping, and messaging, pei proposed that AI agents would perform tasks such as booking rides, shopping, and messaging end-to-end.