Smartisan

Smartisan was founded on May 18 2012 by Luo Yonghao.

On March 27, 2013, Smartisan announced Smartisan OS, a smartphone platform based on the Android operating system.^[2]

On May 20, 2014, Smartisan announced their first smartphone, the Smartisan T1.^[3][4][5] It received the iF Gold Award, noted for its coherent design and polished details.^[6]

On December 29, 2015, Smartisan announced their second smartphone, the Smartisan T2.

In 2018, Smartisan launched Bullet Messenger (later Liaotianbao), a messenger app for iOS & Android devices. It is not available on App Store^[7][8] or the Play Store^[9][10] currently. By the second half of 2018 Smartisan had racked up 600,000,000 RMB in debt ($89M). Yonghao Luo declared on Weibo that he wouldn't file for bankruptcy, instead hoping to make money through "busking" (performance arts for money).^[11]

In 2019, Smartisan debuted the disposable vape & e-cigarette sub-brand Flow.^[12] It was praised by iF for its sleek designs.^[13]

According to ByteDance (parent company of TikTok) for a YiCai article, In 2019, the company acqui-hired^[14] Smartisan, taking over their patents and signing contracts with all of its hardware division employees and some of its software division employees. It was rumored by market analysts that ByteDance planned to produce education hardware, such as smart desk lamps.^[15] Notably, Smartisan's next phone, the Nut Pro 3, was preinstalled with Douyin, the Chinese-localized version of TikTok.^[16]

In 2021, ByteDance halted Smartisan's device production to refocus on its line of hardware products for the education sector. ^[17] It has not yet put on sale any education hardware.

In 2022, ByteDance unveiled "Smartisan TV OS", a "next-generation smart screen operating system" based on Smartisan OS with plans that it would be used on select Konka televisions. It did not feature Smartisan-like design, instead opting for a more bubbly, generic aesthetic.^[18] It has not been used on any production Konka TV.

In December 2025, ByteDance and ZTE announced Nubia M153, an "engineering prototype" only available for order online, which included Doubao, an operating system-level large action model. Doubao is able to perform tasks on the phone, such as tapping, through a GUI Agent.^[19] The phone uses Obric UI, a customized Android environment made by ByteDance.^[20]

Smartisan was known for its often staunch design ethos. Their public mission focused on "artisanship and perfectionism.^[1]"

Yonghao opened the "Smartisan OS (based on Android)" 2012 keynote by critiquing other manufacturer's icons, stating it was "not sensible" they were bound to a squircle or circle. Instead, Smartisan OS promoted a design language with irregular shapes, similar to early versions of macOS, in a default 3x3 grid-like home screen arrangement^[21].

Smartisan redesigned "about two or three hundred" third-party app icons to fit its design language.^[21]

Smartisan OS debuted with a set of "OCD features," focused on minor design tweaks such as toggling icon labels, symmetry within apps, and a screen wipe gesture to hide notification badges.^[22]

Smartisan T1, T2, M1, & M1L included a brightness rocker on the right side of the phone along with the usual volume key for symmetry. For the same reason, the T2 had no dedicated power button.^[23]

According to the company website, the English name "Smartisan" is a portmanteau of "smart" and "artisan",^[24] signifying "artisanship in the smartphone era". "锤子" literally translates to "hammer", as depicted in the company's logo.

Smartphones

More information Model, CPU ...

Model	CPU	Cores	Bits	GPU	Screen Type	Release date	Data Transfer Download Speed	Battery	Back-camera	Front-camera	Latest OS	Official Price	Size & Weight
Smartisan T1 3G	Qualcomm Snapdragon 801	Quad-core 2.5 GHz[25]	32-bit[25]	Adreno 330[25]	Pixel Eyes	20 May 2014	HSPA+, WCDMA, EDGE, GSM 40Mbit/s		12.78 MP	5 MP	Smartisan OS 1.0	¥3000 (16 GB) ¥3150 (32 GB)
Smartisan T1 4G	Qualcomm Snapdragon 801	Quad-core 2.5 GHz[25]	32-bit[25]	Adreno 330[25]	Pixel Eyes	October 2014	LTE/A-FDD Cat 4,[25][26]TD-LTE, HSPA+, TD-SCDMA, WCDMA, EDGE, GSM 150 Mbit/s[25]		12.78 MP	5 MP	Smartisan OS 1.5	¥3500 (16 GB) ¥3650 (32 GB)
Smartisan U1[26] 4G	Qualcomm Snapdragon 615[26]	Quad-core A53 1.5 GHz + Quad-core A53 1.0 GHz[25][26]	64-bit[25][26]	Adreno 405[25]	TFT	25 August 2015	LTE/A-FDD Cat 4,[25][26]TD-LTE, HSPA+, TD-SCDMA, WCDMA, EDGE, GSM 150 Mbit/s[25]		12.78 MP	5 MP	Smartisan OS 2.0[26]	¥899 (16 GB) ¥999 (32 GB)
Smartisan T2[27] 4G	Qualcomm Snapdragon 808	Dual-core A57 1.82 GHz + Quad-core A53 1.44 GHz[25]	64-bit[25]	Adreno 418[25]	Pixel Eyes	29 December 2015[27]	LTE/A-FDD Cat 9,[25]TD-LTE, HSPA+, TD-SCDMA, WCDMA, EDGE, GSM 450Mbit/s[25]		12.78 MP	5 MP+	Smartisan OS 2.5	¥2499 (16 GB) ¥2599 (32 GB)
Smartisan M1	Qualcomm Snapdragon 821[28]	2 + 2 Quad-core	64-bit	Adreno 530	LCD		600Mbit/s		23 MP[28]	4 MP[28]	Smartisan OS 3.0
Smartisan M1L	Qualcomm Snapdragon 821[28]	2 + 2 Quad-core	64-bit	Adreno 530	Pixel Eyes		600Mbit/s		23 MP[28]	4 MP[28]	Smartisan OS 3.0
Smartisan U3	Qualcomm Snapdragon 625	Octa-core 2 GHz Cortex-A53	64-bit	Adreno 506	5.99" FHD 18:9 2160*1080 Display	9 April 2018	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900	Li-Po 4000 mAh, non-removable	Dual 13 + 13 MP Dual LED Flash	Bottom mounted 8 MP	Smartisan OS 3.0	¥1300 (4 GB RAM, 128 GB storage)	154*74.3*7.16 mm 154 g
Smartisan R1[29]	Qualcomm Snapdragon 845[30]			Adreno 630[30]	6.17" In-Cell, 2242*1080, 403 ppi[29]	15 May 2018		3600 mAh[29]	Dual 12+20 MP, Dual LED Flash[29]	24 MP[29]	Smartisan OS 6.0[31]	¥3499 (6 GB RAM, 64 GB storage), ¥3999 (6 GB, 128 GB),¥4499 (8 GB, 128 GB), ¥4999 (8 GB, 512 GB), ¥8848 (8 GB, 1 TB)	153.3*74.5*7.9 mm, 170g[29]
Smartisan Nut R2	Qualcomm Snapdragon 865

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Portable monitors

TNT (Touch & Talk)

• Smartisan TNT
• Smartisan TNT go

Smartisan also released an air purifier in 2018 under the name JOSÉ TRONCO^[32][33], face masks under the same name^[34], and multiple vape products under the name Flow^[13].