Decentralized networks are looking to harness smartphones for artificial intelligence, either for their computing power or their internet connectivity. Acurast says the active phones on its network match the compute capacity of about 2,340 high-end data-center servers, while Phase plans to use mobile and residential connections to validate agents and route their requests. A 2025 study found that clusters of phones could compete with certain cloud setups, but in a controlled environment. In the real world, major obstacles remain, including disconnections, overheating, battery life, network changes and differences in device capabilities. Economic viability will therefore depend on coordination and incentives as much as technical performance.
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