ByteDance’s Doubao AI phone sells out in a day as resale prices surge 6,500 yuan

A new artificial intelligence-powered smartphone, developed by ByteDance’s Doubao assistant and ZTE (0763), sold out within a day of its launch, with resale prices on the second-hand market surging as much as 6,500 yuan (HK$7,155.71) above retail, mainland media reported.

The handset, priced at 3,499 yuan, was listed as sold out on ZTE’s online store shortly after sales opened. On the second-hand trading platform Xianyu, resellers are now asking between 7,999 and 9,999 yuan for unopened units.

ByteDance said it is working with several manufacturers on future Doubao-powered devices, though ZTE is the only confirmed partner so far.

Doubao has rapidly become one of China’s most downloaded AI apps, blending chatbot functions with photo and video tools. The app logged about 11.4 million downloads in October, more than five times those of rival DeepSeek, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.