OpenAI is working on a home AI speaker that can move and behave like a "living" companion: with a camera, priced at $200–300, and a reveal coming this year — but according to Bloomberg, it won't actually go on sale until 2027.
Before this leak, people were expecting something a bit different. OpenAI had long talked about wanting to replace the smartphone, and after acquiring io Products — the studio of Jony Ive (Apple's longtime chief design officer) — for $6.5 billion, the rumors were pointing squarely at a wearable. Bloomberg reports the company was indeed exploring a "pendant" and other wearable form factors, and was also eyeing home robotics — but chose the speaker for its debut. Replacing the smartphone remains a goal for the future, not a first step.
The timing of the leak only underscores the tension: a week earlier, Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing the company of stealing trade secrets. Apple's claim is that OpenAI's head of hardware Tang Tan — co-founder of io Products and former lead designer on the iPhone — ran a campaign to extract confidential information about Apple's upcoming products, and that the company has altogether poached more than 400 people from Apple. Apple is seeking an injunction that could delay sales of the speaker. OpenAI denies the allegations and insists its new device is substantially different from anything Apple has.