Rumors about a SpaceX-branded hardware are becoming increasingly concrete: according to three sources cited by Reuters, the company would be developing a mobile device capable of connecting directly to the Starlink satellite constellation Starlink.
However, it would not be a traditional smartphone: Elon Musk himself took to the X platform to categorically deny the label of “phone”, outlining instead the contours of a novel terminal.
Starlink is preparing a smartphone? No, according to Musk it will be something different
Although Musk has denied developing a direct competitor to the iPhone or Android, he has not denied the existence of the project, shifting attention to the technical specifications.
The entrepreneur’s vision points toward a radically different device, optimized not for traditional apps, but for energy efficiency in running neural networks. The idea is hardware capable of managing complex artificial intelligence models locally, delivering maximum performance per watt.
This direction seems strategic in light of SpaceX’s recent acquisition of the startup xAI by SpaceX. The integration between the global connectivity offered by the Starlink satellites and the computing power needed to run the chatbot the chatbot Grok suggests the creation of a closed and high-performance proprietary ecosystem.
The device would serve as a physical access point to an advanced artificial intelligence, always connected and independent from terrestrial networks, leveraging know-how that the company is already testing through the partnership with T-Mobile to bring satellite connectivity to existing cell phones.
The competition for the “post-smartphone” era
Musk’s initiative is not isolated, but part of a boiling sector that seeks to define the hardware of the future.
While OpenAI collaborates with former Apple designer Jony Ive on a mysterious device and Cupertino considers the possibility of AI-based wearables, SpaceX could play the infrastructure card.
Unlike others’ attempts, such as Humane’s controversial AI Pin that has struggled to convince the public, a “Starlink-native” terminal would enjoy the unique advantage of owning both the hardware and the global data-transmission network, freeing itself from the logic of traditional operators.
