OpenAI's first hardware product is a screenless AI speaker designed to feel alive

{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "OpenAI's first hardware product is a screenless AI speaker designed to feel alive", "datePublished": "2026-07-15T08:48:56+02:00", "dateModified": "2026-07-15T08:51:00+02:00", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Matthias Bastian" }, "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "The Decoder" }, "description": "OpenAI plans to enter hardware with a portable, screenless smart speaker. Equipped with a camera, sensors, and moving mechanical parts, the device is designed as an AI companion that feels \"alive.\" But Apple's trade secrets lawsuit involving OpenAI hardware chief Tang Tan could delay its planned 2027 launch.", "articleBody": "OpenAI is planning a portable, screenless smart speaker as an AI companion for the home. The device is meant to feel alive, but Apple's trade secrets lawsuit could delay its launch.\r\n\r\nOpenAI's long-awaited move into hardware will reportedly begin with a portable, screenless speaker, according to a Bloomberg report. The device, still in development, is meant to serve as a human-like AI companion at home, controlling smart home gadgets, playing media, answering questions, handling messages, and tapping into the full range of ChatGPT.\r\n\r\nOpenAI internally describes the product as a \"new type of home computer for the\u00a0AI era,\" Bloomberg reports. It includes a camera and other sensors to help it understand the user's surroundings and context. Unlike traditional smart speakers, it has a rechargeable battery so it can be carried from room to room.\r\nMechanical elements are designed to make the device appear lifelike\r\nThe speaker's defining feature will reportedly be its personality. OpenAI wants the device to become more personalized and proactive as it gets to know its owner: It is meant to anticipate needs, offer information on its own, and access personal data such as emails.\r\n\r\nThe speaker also reportedly includes mechanical parts that can move on their own. The goal is to make the device seem alive rather than like an object that simply responds to commands. OpenAI wants to create a physical version of ChatGPT, in line with CEO Sam Altman's goal of building a computer like the one in \"Her.\"\r\n\r\nThis kind of heavy anthropomorphism has drawn criticism for its potential to\u00a0trigger psychotic episodes, something that already happened with\u00a0OpenAI's extremely sycophantic GPT-4o model.\r\n\r\nReal-time communication runs on an expanded version of ChatGPT Voice Mode called\u00a0GPT-Live, which OpenAI introduced a few days ago. The new voice mode can listen and speak at the same time, letting it adapt more naturally during conversations and further reinforcing the impression that it's human.\r\nApple's lawsuit could hold up the 2027 launch\r\nApple\u00a0sued OpenAI last week over the alleged theft of trade secrets. The lawsuit focuses in part on Tang Tan, OpenAI's chief hardware officer and a co-founder of io Products. Tan previously led iPhone product design at Apple.\r\n\r\nApple accuses him of running a campaign to obtain confidential information about future Apple products. The company claims a former iPhone engineer hacked into its systems to get technical presentations. Apple called OpenAI's hardware ambitions \"rotten at the core.\"\r\n\r\nOpenAI\u00a0denies the allegations, Bloomberg reports. The company says there's no evidence the lawsuit has merit and stresses the importance of fair competition and employees' freedom to choose where they work. The planned device is fundamentally different from Apple products and doesn't violate any trade secrets, OpenAI says. Apple acknowledges that only a discovery process can determine whether OpenAI used its technology.\r\n\r\nBloomberg reports that OpenAI plans to unveil the device later this year and release it in 2027. Apple is seeking an injunction against OpenAI's hardware efforts, which could delay the launch.\r\nThe speaker is only the start of OpenAI's hardware push\r\nThe AI smart speaker is likely just the beginning. Bloomberg reports that OpenAI's hardware division is working on about five products. Those projects reportedly include a portable AI device designed to replace a phone, a wearable pendant, and home robotics.\r\n\r\nApple itself is preparing\u00a0its own family of AI-focused home devices, including a smart home command center with a 7-inch display, facial recognition, and a new operating system. A version with a screen mounted on a robotic arm and a smart home security system are also in the works.", "isAccessibleForFree": "False", "hasPart": { "@type": "WebPageElement", "isAccessibleForFree": "False", "cssSelector": ".paywall-active" } }