OpenAI's First Devices: Speaker, Smartphone, and More

Key Points:

• OpenAI is developing a portable, screenless AI smart speaker designed as a personal home companion, created with former Apple design chief Jony Ive, expected to launch in early 2027 priced between $200 and $300.
• The speaker will feature a rechargeable battery, a camera for environmental awareness, mechanical elements to simulate life, and be powered by ChatGPT with GPT-Live for interactive conversations and smart home control.
• OpenAI is also working on an AI smartphone with a customized MediaTek Dimensity 9600 processor, advanced imaging and AI capabilities, aiming for mass production in the first half of 2027 with potential shipments of around 30 million units over 2027-2028.
• Additional devices like smart glasses, a smart lamp, and earbuds are reportedly in development but may be further out or canceled; these efforts follow OpenAI's acquisition of Jony Ive's startup and a major hiring push of former Apple employees.
• Apple has sued OpenAI over alleged trade secret theft related to the hiring of Apple engineers, a move that may be slowing OpenAI’s hardware progress, while both companies appear to be competing in overlapping AI-driven hardware categories.