Handsy AI
Under reviewA $7 ESP32 board that lets AI tap through your iPhone
Plug a $7 ESP32 board into your iPhone. Your AI sees the screen and taps, swipes and types through your apps for you. No jailbreak. Open source.
Built by Henry Yuan and Sherice · AI Agent · MCP · Open Source · Free
Coming soon on Launch Llama Tools
Handsy AI is a Community listing on Launch Llama with 0 total upvotes, founded by Henry Yuan and Sherice who joined in Nov 2026, compared against 6 alternatives.
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Henry Yuan and Sherice (Joined Nov 2026)
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Plug a $7 ESP32 board into your iPhone. Your AI sees the screen and taps, swipes and types through your apps for you. No jailbreak. Open source.
About
Handsy AI lets an AI use a real iPhone the way you do: it looks at the screen and taps.
A $7 Seeed XIAO ESP32S3 board plugs into the phone's USB port. The phone mirrors its screen to the board over AirPlay, so the AI can see it. The board then acts as a standard USB mouse and keyboard. With AssistiveTouch on, a click is a tap and a drag is a swipe. Nothing is installed on the phone's system: no jailbreak, no developer mode, no new phone.
There are two ways to use it:
- iPhone app (ESP32 Agent, free on TestFlight): type a goal like "set an alarm for 7 AM every weekday" and watch it work through your apps. It checks that each step actually changed the screen, keeps a step-by-step replay of every run, and can repeat a recorded flow. Try the free AI line or plug in your own.
- Handsy CLI: let the AI agent on your computer drive your iPhone from the terminal (MCP supported). No app and no developer account needed.
Setup is three short steps. Turn on AssistiveTouch, flash the board once from Chrome or Edge at handsy.tech (no IDE, no soldering), then pair it with the app or the CLI. It also works on iPad.
The firmware and code are open source on GitHub (ESP32 iPhone Agent): https://github.com/onehumanbeing/esp32-iphone-agent
Try it: TestFlight https://testflight.apple.com/join/1xQHgJcA · Demo video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fC4BltPzPIU · Maker: Henry Yuan, X @iamhenryyuan
Honest limits: each step takes a few seconds, it runs in portrait mode, and iOS doesn't mirror passcode or Apple Pay screens.
Follow Handsy AI: X (Twitter)
Key Features
- Mirrors the iPhone screen to the board over AirPlay so the agent can read it
- Taps, swipes, drags, and types on the phone as a USB mouse and keyboard
- Runs a goal-driven task from the iPhone app, with a guided setup of the board
- Lets your computer's agent take screenshots and act on the phone via Handsy CLI
- Open-source firmware and code on GitHub, free iOS app on TestFlight
- Pairs the board over Bluetooth using open-source firmware and a board hotspot
Use Cases
- Setting a repeating 7:00 AM alarm on an iPhone by having the AI tap through the Clock app
- Having Claude Code use the CLI to open Google Maps in Chrome and find cafés near East Broadway station
From the founder
Who it's for
“Makers and developers who want an AI to use a real iPhone, without a jailbreak, a Mac or Xcode.”
Why I built it
“Letting an AI use a real iPhone used to mean a Mac, Xcode and a dev setup. Now it's a $7 board and a browser flasher. I'm Henry Yuan (X @iamhenryyuan).”
Who it is for
- Developers and tinkerers who want an AI agent to operate a stock iPhone without jailbreaking it
Pricing
Handsy AI is free to use. See the website for details.
Alternatives
SparkyFor digital wellness seekers: Sparky gamifies healthy habits so you earn screen time instead of fighting app addiction and build lasting routines.More in AI Agent
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