OpenAI is crafting a pocket-sized, screenless smart speaker designed to revolutionise home AI integration, with a launch anticipated in 2027 and a premium price point, signalling a bold move into personal hardware.
OpenAI’s first in-house consumer device, being developed with former Apple design chief Jony Ive, is emerging as a screen-free smart speaker that could sit at the centre of a home AI setup. Bloomberg reported that the product is being shaped as a compact, portable unit rather than a display-led gadget, signalling that OpenAI wants to define a new category of personal hardware rather than imitate existing smart speakers.
The device is said to be roughly the size of a hockey puck and to include a battery, which would allow it to move between rooms. Bloomberg said it will rely on microphones, cameras and other sensors to read its surroundings and feed visual context to the model, while a light strip would indicate when it is listening. The design is being developed with LoveFrom, the studio founded by Ive, and the company is aiming for a more natural, responsive interface with moving external elements that make interactions feel less mechanical.
The hardware push has been building for more than a year. In May 2025, Bloomberg reported that OpenAI agreed to buy io, the device start-up co-founded by Ive, in a deal valued at nearly $6.5bn. Tom’s Hardware later said OpenAI was working with suppliers linked to Apple, including Luxshare and Goertek, and that Tang Tan, a former Apple designer, was helping lead the effort as chief hardware officer. That backdrop suggests OpenAI is assembling a serious consumer electronics operation rather than testing a one-off accessory.
According to Bloomberg, the planned speaker is meant to behave somewhat like ChatGPT’s voice mode but with more advanced models and a stronger ability to learn a user’s habits over time. The company is reportedly preparing a broader family of devices and sees the first model as a possible step towards a future product that could eventually reduce the role of the smartphone. Bloomberg said the launch is expected in 2027 and that the price is likely to exceed $300, a level that would place it above many mainstream smart speakers and closer to premium home technology.
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