Perplexity Computer is a multi-model agent orchestration platform — a "general-purpose digital worker" that accepts a high-level goal, decomposes it into subtasks, and delegates each to the most capable AI model. It runs entirely in the cloud in an isolated sandbox with a real filesystem, browser, and ~400 tool integrations.
| Task | Model |
|---|---|
| Core reasoning & coding | Claude Opus 4.6 (Anthropic) |
| Deep research | Gemini (Google) |
| Image generation | Nano Banana (Google) |
| Video generation | Veo 3.1 (Google) |
| Lightweight tasks | Grok (xAI) |
| Long-context & web search | ChatGPT 5.2 (OpenAI) |
| Additional | 13 more (not all named) |
| Tier | Price | Access |
|---|---|---|
| Perplexity Max | $200/month | ✅ Available now |
| Perplexity Enterprise | Custom | Rolling out |
| Perplexity Pro | $20/month | Rolling out |
10,000 credits/month included + 20,000 bonus for first 30 days. Per-token billing on top of subscription.
⚠️ Launch context: Perplexity's own scheduled press demo was canceled hours before showtime because they found product flaws. The product has been live for two days.
Perplexity's marketing explicitly cites mobile app development: "build me an Android app…" and "build an app that provides ski resort snow conditions." They claim to "research, design, code, deploy, and manage any project end-to-end."
Xcode and Android SDK require local macOS/Linux environments. A cloud browser sandbox can't run them.
Testing React Native or Flutter requires a simulator or real device — not available in a browser-based sandbox.
Signing certificates, provisioning profiles, and binary builds require local Xcode on macOS. Cannot be automated in cloud.
Can't run native code and get error output — debugging is limited to static analysis only.
| Tool | Mobile Support | Execution | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perplexity Computer | Web confirmed; native ❌ | Cloud sandbox | Uncertain |
| Claude Code (local) | Full — runs your build tools | Local machine | Better for mobile |
| Cursor | Full IDE — RN/Flutter with setup | Local machine | Better for mobile |
| Bolt.new | Web apps only | Cloud (StackBlitz) | No native |
| Lovable | Web apps only | Cloud | No native |
| Replit Agent | Web; limited native | Cloud (Replit) | Similar limits |
Computer handles this well. Use Gemini for research, Opus for synthesis. Solid architecture and data model output.
Claude Opus 4.6 generates React Native code into the sandbox filesystem. You can't run it there — must extract and set up locally.
Download generated code, set up Expo/RN locally, fix environment issues. Almost certain to need debugging — this is where it breaks without a dev.
Paste errors back to Computer. Opus 4.6 suggests fixes. Essentially a fancy Claude chat for debugging — useful but not autonomous.
Requires Xcode, signing certs, provisioning, screenshots, metadata. Computer cannot do this autonomously.
What it's good for today: Web app prototyping, research + architecture planning, backend API code generation, multi-step automation, content/marketing assets, documentation.
Where it breaks for mobile: Native compilation, simulator testing, Xcode/Android Studio integration, app signing, App Store submission, long debugging loops on device-specific bugs.
Bottom line: Perplexity Computer is not a mobile app builder. It's a general-purpose AI orchestration platform. In 6–12 months, with native build environment support, this verdict could change — but today a developer is still required for any production-quality native mobile app.