OpenAI's first hardware device is reportedly a displayless, Jony Ive-designed smart speaker

OpenAI is reportedly developing a displayless, battery-powered smart speaker as its first consumer hardware device, designed with former Apple design chief Jony Ive and his studio LoveFrom, according to people familiar with the project.

The device would be OpenAI’s first piece of dedicated hardware, following its roughly $6.5 billion acquisition of Ive’s startup, io Products. Rather than a screen-first gadget, the reported design leans on voice and ambient sensing, positioning it against Amazon’s Echo and Google’s Nest speakers as an entry point for ChatGPT in the home.

The hardware is said to be hockey-puck or donut-shaped, built from premium metal, with dynamic lighting and integrated speaker grilles, plus a camera and sensors for environmental awareness. Internal discussions point to a retail price of $300 to $400. OpenAI is said to be targeting an unveiling later in 2026, ahead of a market launch in 2027.

OpenAI has not confirmed the device or its specifications, and the reported details come from internal discussions that can shift before any product ships. A camera and always-listening sensors in a living-room device would also raise the privacy questions that have dogged smart speakers since their debut, an area OpenAI has not addressed publicly.

The reported timeline gives OpenAI more than a year to move from an internal prototype to a shipping consumer product, a transition that has tripped up better-resourced hardware efforts. The first real signal will be whether the promised 2026 unveiling arrives on schedule.