Back in April, we heard that ChatGPT developer OpenAI was busy working on a hardware device in partnership with former Apple design chief Jony Ive, a rumor that has now been confirmed in a new profile of Ive.
The profile appeared in the New York Times (via The Verge) and details some of how Ive met OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The two agreed to partner to create a new “AI device company,” but it's unclear at this time what form this device might take.
We know that much of the development of the device is being done in secret — the device will be “a product that uses artificial intelligence to create a computing experience that is less socially disruptive than the iPhone,” according to the article. However, the exact nature of the device and its release date are “still to be determined.”
The article does say that the budding AI device company has office space and has secured private funding. Additionally, some members of the device design team worked with Ive on the iPhone design (he is also responsible for many other modern Apple product designs, including the iPad and MacBook).
Choose your form factor
Based on the information we get here, it seems that the exact form factor and features of the upcoming OpenAI hardware device are still to be determined, although we have already seen many other AI devices hit the market in recent times.
The Rabbit R1 hasn't really delivered on its initial promise – the phone-like box promises to use your mobile apps for you, to a certain extent, replacing them with an all-purpose generative AI assistant – but in our Rabbit R1 review we described it as “an adorable but half-baked idea that you can kind of ignore”.
Then there’s the Humane AI Pin, which launched to a lukewarm reception. The idea is similar to the Rabbit R1, in that it uses generative AI to largely replace your smartphone, but the tiny wearable has struggled with battery life and overheating in the short time it’s been on sale.
These devices, and others like NotePin and Plaud.AI’s Friend, basically involve putting a generative AI assistant inside a compact device. OpenAI already has the assistant’s software ready; it now just needs to find the best physical form for it.
