Manus 2.0 Debuts Cascade Agent Harness and Cue App for Personal Agents
Butterfly Effect, the company behind the Manus AI agent, launched Manus 2.0 for overseas users alongside Cue, a new standalone app for personal agents. In a post on its official WeChat account, the company also said it is building a team to develop a product for the Chinese market. Neither a product name nor a date has been given for that version.
The company describes Manus 2.0 as a new architecture rather than a version update. At its core is Cascade, the latest iteration of Manus's own agent harness. In one tested configuration, Manus says Cascade used 23.2% fewer tokens, finished tasks in 28.2% less time, and cost 32% less to run than its previous system, with the details of that test undisclosed.
Cascade keeps a project light from the start and brings in specialised capabilities only when the work calls for them. And two infrastructure features accompany it in the release. One is a Cloud Computer that users can buy, a dedicated environment for projects such as a multiplayer game server or an automation that must run around the clock, even after the user's laptop is closed.
Automations go beyond scheduled tasks to event triggers. A new email, a change in ad performance, a calendar event, a Slack message, or a Notion update can each start a workflow set up in a single prompt. No price is given for the Cloud Computer or for the automations that run on it.
The desktop app becomes Manus Studio, a shared workspace that loads only the tools a project needs across documents, spreadsheets, PDFs, slides, websites, code, games, and video, rather than loading everything at once. Within it, a new Video Editor produces a first cut of short videos such as product ads, then hands users an editable timeline of separate clips, images, text, graphics, and audio. Game Dev combines video, image, and coding models, and games can be published as websites or made multiplayer through a Cloud Computer.
And with Remote Control and Computer Use, Manus can work on a user's own computer in an authorised session. So the agent works with the approved files, browsers, and apps it has been given, and nothing else.
Cue runs on phone and desktop on the same infrastructure as the Manus agent. Each agent gets its own email address, phone number, wallet, and computer, so it can send messages, pay within a set budget, answer calls, and leave summaries. Several agents can share a group chat and hand work to one another.
An agent can also order at a restaurant after the user scans a QR code. Cue is in free early access that requires an invitation, with an iOS version pending App Store review. No end date has been given for the free period.
And the company said its cooperation with domestic model developers and ecosystem partners is progressing steadily. Founder Xiao Hong wrote on social platform Jike that something with its own phone number, email, payments, computer, and enough intelligence could perhaps be called a person.
Butterfly Effect launched Manus 2.0 and the Cue app for overseas users.
Cascade, the new agent harness, used 23.2% fewer tokens and cost 32% less to run in one tested configuration.
A Cloud Computer can be bought for projects that must keep running after a laptop closes.
Manus Studio adds a Video Editor and a Game Dev tool.
The company says it is building a team for a Chinese market product, with no date or name given.
Source: Pandaily
