OpenAI's First Hardware Device With Jony Ive Is a Battery-Powered Smart Speaker, Report Says

The Device

OpenAI is developing a handheld smart speaker in collaboration with Jony Ive, the legendary designer behind Apple’s most iconic hardware, according to reporting from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman cited by The Verge. The device is described as roughly the size of a hockey puck with a distinctive doughnut shape—a departure from the minimalist aesthetic Ive perfected at Apple, despite an ongoing legal dispute between the two companies.

The battery-powered speaker prioritizes portability, designed to be carried with one hand through a home environment, drawing inspiration from Amazon’s discontinued Tap speaker. It will integrate a camera system, multiple sensors, and lights alongside its core audio capabilities. Most distinctively, the device features animated moving parts that respond dynamically when OpenAI’s voice assistant is active, signaling to users when the system is processing or interacting with a query.

Pricing and Capability

The speaker’s launch price will exceed $300, putting it in the premium smart-speaker category—significantly above Amazon’s entry-level Echo devices but in line with high-end home assistants. The timing is set for 2027, giving OpenAI roughly 18 months to finalize the design and manufacturing before consumer availability.

Functionally, the device will run more advanced versions of the voice mode already available in ChatGPT’s mobile applications, emphasizing natural conversational interaction over command-and-control interfaces. Bloomberg’s sources characterize this as a leap forward in how the device handles nuanced, humanlike dialogue—suggesting OpenAI intends to compete on conversational depth rather than feature breadth.

Part of a Larger Strategy

This speaker is not OpenAI’s only hardware ambition. According to Gurman’s reporting, the puck-shaped device represents the first product in a broader family of hardware devices OpenAI has in development. The company has not disclosed details about subsequent products, though the existence of a planned lineup suggests OpenAI views consumer hardware as a strategic pillar alongside its API and subscription businesses.

Why This Matters

OpenAI’s entry into consumer hardware signals a shift in how frontier AI companies plan to reach end users. Rather than relying exclusively on third-party devices (smartphones, smart speakers, laptops), OpenAI is designing its own form factor to showcase advanced voice AI without the constraints of existing hardware categories. Jony Ive’s involvement adds credibility to the industrial design—a category where startup entrants often stumble.

For competitive dynamics, this move threatens Amazon’s Alexa ecosystem and Google’s Assistant dominance in voice-activated home devices, while positioning OpenAI to capture margin across hardware-plus-software bundles. The $300+ price point also suggests OpenAI is targeting affluent early adopters rather than mass-market penetration—a strategy that mirrors how premium smart speakers have historically succeeded against cheaper commodity alternatives. If the 2027 timeline holds and the device ships with reliable voice performance, it could accelerate adoption of GPT-powered voice agents in home environments.