OpenAI is developing its first consumer hardware product, a portable screenless smart speaker designed to serve as an interactive artificial intelligence companion.
The new device will function as a home computer powered by an advanced version of ChatGPT Voice Mode known as GPT-Live. This upgraded software enables the machine to process information rapidly, listen while speaking simultaneously and adapt naturally during conversations.
Internally pitched as a computer built for the AI era, the gadget will control smart home appliances, play media, answer questions and manage messages. It features a built-in camera alongside environmental sensors to understand a user’s surroundings and contextual cues. Unlike traditional smart speakers tethered to a wall socket, this unit includes a rechargeable battery that allows owners to carry it from room to room.
In a departure from conventional hardware, the speaker incorporates autonomous mechanical elements that shift independently. Developers intend for these moving parts to give the machine a lifelike presence rather than acting as a static box waiting for commands.
Personalisation and legal challenges
The speaker is designed to become increasingly proactive over time by learning its owner’s habits. It can draw on personal data such as emails to anticipate needs and surface relevant information before a user explicitly asks.
Former Apple design chief Jony Ive is leading the product’s creative development through his studio LoveFrom. This collaboration follows OpenAI’s $6.5 bn acquisition of io Products, a hardware startup Ive co-founded.
OpenAI aims to unveil the speaker later this year ahead of a targeted 2027 launch. However, this timeline faces potential delays due to a recent lawsuit filed by Apple.
Apple has accused the AI firm of stealing trade secrets and is seeking an injunction against the hardware’s release. The legal dispute centres on OpenAI’s aggressive recruitment of more than 400 former Apple employees. OpenAI maintains that its upcoming companion device differs substantially from existing Apple products like the HomePod and does not violate any intellectual property rights.
