It will be powered by a more advanced version of the model used by ChatGPT’s new voice mode, Bloomberg says.
It has long been reported that OpenAI's first hardware product will be an AI-powered speaker. Now, a new * Bloomberg* report reveals more details about the upcoming device, which will apparently be rechargeable and can easily be carried from one room to another. You're supposed to be able to take it to the kitchen, for instance, to help you with cooking instructions and then carry it back to your living room or bedroom. The publication says the speaker is meant to be a "humanlike AI companion" that can talk to you naturally in the way ChatGPT can, which can also control your smart home devices and play audio.
The speaker will not have a screen, but Bloomberg says it will have mechanical elements that can move on their own to create an illusion that it's "alive" and not just an object that can follow commands. Since OpenAI wants it to be a physical manifestation of ChatGPT and feel like a real companion rather than just another smart speaker, it will use a more advanced version of GPT-Live, the model that powers the new ChatGPT voice mode OpenAI recently launched. It will be able to listen and talk at the same time and quickly process new information to be able to adapt more naturally while in the middle of conversations. In addition, the company will equip the device with a camera and other sensors so that it can gather more context about a user's surroundings for more personalized responses.
OpenAI acquired io, the startup founded by ex-Apple designer Jony Ive, for $6.5 billion in 2025 to help design the speaker. It's planning to release the speaker sometime in 2027, but it could be delayed, as Apple is asking the court for an injunction on OpenAI's hardware products. A few days ago, Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and two of its former employees over trade secret theft and had also accused Ive's io of being complicit.
Apple accused its former employees Chang Liu and Tang Yew Tan of down dozens of confidential hardware-related files, including technical specs and proprietary data for unreleased products. It also claimed that OpenAI's interview process had evolved "to try to solicit additional confidential Apple information." OpenAI, Apple said, has hired more than 400 of its former employees so far. They include Paul Meade, the top executive in charge of the Vision Pro headset's development, who now leads OpenAI's new hardware division.