Is OpenAI entering the smart speaker market? How Bloomberg reports, the company is collaborating with former Apple chief designer Jony Ive—whose design studio, LoveFrom, most recently designed the Luce electric sports car in partnership with Ferrari—to develop a portable, screenless speaker intended to serve as a personal AI assistant. There has been no official confirmation yet. OpenAI initially declined to comment on the report.
More of an AI assistant than a traditional smart speaker
According to the report, the device is said to be much more than just a competitor to the Amazon Echo or Apple HomePod. What’s particularly noteworthy is that OpenAI apparently intends to deliberately forgo a display. Instead, interaction is expected to take place almost entirely via voice and ChatGPT. This would set the company on a different path than Amazon, Google, or Apple, which are increasingly equipping their smart home products with screens.
The speaker is designed to be portable, feature a built-in rechargeable battery, and include not only microphones but also a camera and other sensors. This would allow the system to sense its surroundings and interact with users in a much more natural way. According to Bloomberg, planned features include media playback, smart home control, messaging, and AI-powered conversations. The speaker would thus be more of a means to an end: the focus would be on a personal AI assistant that handles music as just one of many functions.
Jony Ive Shapes the Design
The project is drawing particular attention due to Jony Ive’s involvement. The longtime Apple chief designer has shaped the design of the iMac, iPod, iPhone, and Apple Watch, among other products. Just a few months ago, OpenAI acquired his hardware startup, io, to jointly develop a new generation of AI-powered devices. With the Ferrari Luce, Ive also recently demonstrated that his design studio, LoveFrom, is setting new trends even outside the consumer electronics sector.
Market launch likely not until 2027
According to Bloomberg, the first device is expected to be released in 2027 at the earliest. The price could range from $200 to $300. The plan is to launch a portable speaker without a display, which is expected to stand out from existing smart speakers thanks to its particularly natural voice interaction.
Hardware plans are still subject to change
Bloomberg had first reported on OpenAI’s plans for an AI-powered smart speaker back in February. According to the report, details of the project could still change, both as a result of technical developments and due to the ongoing legal dispute with Apple. This is also pointed out by Heise , citing the latest Bloomberg report.
Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI a few days ago, accusing the company of using trade secrets to develop its own hardware. OpenAI denies the allegations. Regardless, a look at the team reveals the company’s ambitions: In addition to former Apple chief designer Jony Ive, the team working on the new hardware projects includes Tang Tan, former head of iPhone product design; former Apple design chief Evans Hankey; and Paul Meade, who was involved in the Vision Pro and future smart glasses at Apple.
New Competition for Alexa, HomePod, and Google?
If the reports about the ChatGPT speaker are confirmed, OpenAI would be entering the hardware market for smart home and audio products for the first time. This would be quite remarkable for the audio industry: The new competitor would not come from the traditional consumer electronics sector, but from the world of artificial intelligence. While Amazon, Apple, and Google have so far primarily viewed their devices as voice-controlled speakers, OpenAI could take the opposite approach and develop an AI assistant in which the speaker serves merely as the user interface.
For now, this is just a Bloomberg report. Neither OpenAI nor Jony Ive has officially announced the project. If the report is confirmed, it could result in one of the most exciting audio products of the coming years.
