OpenAI is developing several new AI-powered device in its partnership with former Apple designer Jony Ive, and it looks like the first fruits of the relationship will come in the form of a smart speaker.
The Information reports the company is working on a smart speaker and a smart lamp, and is also considering AI glasses. The publication says the speaker is set to come out in early 2027.
The OpenAI smart speaker has an integrated camera and will learn information about its users and its surroundings. A facial recognition feature ala Face ID will be included and users will be able to use the speaker to purchase goods and services. The speaker will be AI integrated, allowing user to pose questions and make requests.
The information comes from an internal presentation to OpenAI employees, who were told that the speaker would observe users, then make suggestions about how they might better achieve their goals.
The smart speaker will likely compete with Apple’s widely-expected similar home hub device, which will sport an integrated camera and speaker for video calls, will allow users to control their smart home products, and will boast deep integration with the new more personalized Siri that is currently under development.
The speaker is expected to be priced somewhere in the $200 to $200 range, and is expected to launch February 2027 at the earliest. While OpenAI is also working on the smart lamp and smart glasses, but those products won’t be ready before 2028 at the earliest. Other than the speaker, all development is in early stages and could be cancelled.
OpenAI last year announced that it was acquiring io, the hardware-based AI startup co-founded by Former Apple executive Jony Ive. Ive had been working with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on io for two years, and the duo had plans for a family of AI devices.
Altman and Ive outlined their partnership and what they expect to create as a result of the merger. “I have a growing sense that everything I have learned over the last 30 years has led me to this place, and to this moment,” said Ive. “What we’ve been working on, I think, has completely captured our imagination.”
Altman says Ive gave him a prototype of the first device to allow him to test it. “I’ve been able to live with it, and I think it is the coolest piece of technology that the world will have ever seen,” he said.
The device was initially targeted for a end of 2026 release. But the latest court filing from OpenAI reveals the company’s first hardware device won’t be released before the end of February 2027. OpenAI has not yet created any packaging or marketing materials for the device, according to the document.