Doubao Phone Assistant at 3,499 CNY? Free AI Phone Control Alternatives

In late 2025, ByteDance and ZTE released the Doubao Phone Assistant. It is a phone with AI built in. You speak, and it operates apps: comparing prices and placing orders, sending job applications in bulk, scrolling videos. The price was 3,499 yuan. It sold out on launch day, and the secondhand market was briefly bid up past 5,000.

Selling out that day showed that plenty of people will pay for “AI operating a phone.” The barrier was also plain: all-in-one hardware, not cheap, and tied to that one device. Most people who wanted it then got stuck there.

Three paths, and what each one costs

If you do not want to buy a 3,499 yuan device just for this, there are roughly three paths:

Approach	Examples	Who it fits	Barrier
Open-source frameworks	Open-AutoGLM, Mobile-Agent, Droidrun	Developers willing to set up the environment themselves	High (write code, configure the environment)
On-phone AI apps	AI assistants built into some phone brands	Individuals, when one phone is enough	Low, but limited by what the app can do
Free commercial software	iEasyRun (free phone automation)	Studios and teams managing many phones in one place	Low, install it on a computer and use it

Open-AutoGLM, Mobile-Agent, and Droidrun are open-source projects with a similar idea: send a screenshot to a large model, and the model decides where to tap. They are completely free, and you can change them yourself. The cost is the technical barrier. You install a Python environment, configure a model API, and deal with compatibility problems. That fits developers who are willing to tinker. Business teams find it awkward to use. For an item-by-item comparison of those three with iEasyRun, see How to choose an open phone AI Agent.

The one that installs on your own computer

iEasyRun (free phone automation software) does not sell hardware. The software is completely free and runs on your own computer. Android, iOS, and HarmonyOS phones you already have plug in and can be operated by AI. You do not buy another device.

There is no paywall, no application, and no waiting for sales. Phones you already have connect directly, and you manage several of them in one place. Data stays on your computer. You do not need a server. You can also connect it through MCP to assistants such as WorkBuddy and Claude, and let them drive the phones.

How you choose depends on what you have now. If you want it simple and the budget is there, the Doubao Phone Assistant is still a fairly complete hardware option. If you are a developer and willing to spend time tinkering, an open-source framework fits better: more freedom over the features, and a higher cost in time. If you already have phones and want to try for free first, start with iEasyRun. Once it is installed you can run the first phone, and add devices if it proves useful.