ByteDance drops AI voice assistant on ZTE Nubia M153

Technology Dec 01, 2025

ByteDance, the company behind TikTok and Douyin, just launched its own AI voice assistant on the new ZTE Nubia M153.
Powered by their Doubao language model, it lets users do things like search content or book tickets just by talking—putting ByteDance in direct competition with Huawei and Xiaomi in the smart assistant game.

What's next and why it matters

ByteDance plans to bring this AI assistant to more phones soon but isn't making its own devices.
The launch gave ZTE's stock a 10% boost, helped by reports of the phone—which is available for pre-order at 3,499 yuan ($495)—and some fresh 5G deals in Vietnam.
Meanwhile, ByteDance's Doubao had 159 million monthly active users in October, showing they're serious about leading China's AI scene.