OpenAI's First Consumer Hardware Device: A Screenless AI Smart Speaker with Camera, Designed by Jony Ive

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is preparing to launch its first consumer hardware device: a screenless smart speaker equipped with a camera, environmental sensors, and movable components. The device is being developed in collaboration with former Apple design chief Jony Ive, whose hardware startup io Products was acquired by OpenAI for nearly $6.5 billion in the largest acquisition in the company's history . Here is what is known so far based on reporting from The Information, Reuters, Bloomberg, and other sources.

What Is the Device?

The lead product is a screenless smart speaker designed as an always-on AI companion running ChatGPT. It includes an integrated camera for facial recognition and object identification, along with environmental sensors . The target retail price is between $200 and $300 . OpenAI internally frames the device as a potential "third pillar" of personal computing, competing directly with Amazon's Echo and Apple's HomePod .

Development and the Jony Ive Acquisition

The hardware is the result of a collaboration between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Jony Ive, the designer of the iPhone, iPod, and iMac. In May 2025, OpenAI announced the acquisition of Ive's startup, io Products, in an all-stock deal valued at approximately $6.5 billion . The deal closed in July 2025 . Ive leads creative design through his firm LoveFrom, which remains independent . OpenAI now has over 200 employees dedicated to hardware development .

Release Timeline

Timeline estimates have shifted. OpenAI originally targeted a late-2026 unveiling with shipments by the end of 2026 . In February 2026 court filings, the company revised that timeline, stating it does not expect to ship the device before February 2027 . More recently, OpenAI's CFO teased a mid-2026 unveiling with availability "early next year" . Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reports the device will enter mass production in 2027 . Manufacturing is reportedly being handled by Foxconn, with initial production targets of 40–50 million units .

Sam Altman's Vision: "Peaceful and Calm"

Altman has described the device as intentionally simple and understated. Speaking at Emerson Collective's Demo Day in San Francisco, he said people's first reaction will be: "That's it?… It's so simple." He calls the smartphone the "crowning achievement" of a previous era and positions OpenAI's device as a more "peaceful and calm" hands-free alternative, free from the distractions of notifications and apps . The goal, Altman said, is to evoke a feeling akin to sitting in a cabin by a lake in the mountains, simply enjoying tranquility .

Additional Hardware in Development

Beyond the smart speaker, OpenAI is also developing AI-powered smart glasses targeting 2028 production, and has prototyped a smart lamp that can see and interact with its environment .

The Apple Trade Secret Lawsuit

On July 10, 2026, Apple filed a federal lawsuit in Northern California accusing OpenAI, io Products, and two former Apple employees of running "a pattern of theft" involving Apple's proprietary hardware trade secrets . The complaint alleges that OpenAI encouraged Apple employees to share confidential information about unreleased products. Apple is seeking damages and an injunction that could potentially block OpenAI from using the alleged stolen IP . As of now, OpenAI has publicly denied the allegations, and the timeline for the smart speaker device appears to remain intact — the company has not announced any delay stemming from the lawsuit, though a potential injunction remains a material risk .