OpenAI’s first hardware device is reportedly a portable smart speaker with no screen, built with former Apple design chief Jony Ive and due early 2027 at $200–300 (about AED 735–1,100). A smartphone codenamed J490 is said to follow in the first half of 2027, with smart glasses, a lamp and earbuds further down the roadmap, per a MacRumors roundup of the reporting.
The speaker: a home companion that moves
Bloomberg reports the speaker is pitched internally as a “humanlike AI companion that lives in the home.” It has a rechargeable battery so it can be carried between rooms, a camera to read its surroundings, and mechanical parts that move on their own so it feels alive. Whether that reads as companion or poltergeist remains to be seen.
Powered by ChatGPT and using GPT-Live for conversation, it will control smart home accessories, answer questions, play media and respond to messages, learning the owner’s habits over time. Sources say it draws on a user’s digital life, including email.
Sam Altman described a prototype to employees as “the coolest piece of technology that the world will have ever seen.” OpenAI reportedly does not regard the HomePod or HomePod mini as comparable products.
The J490 phone: an agent phone, not an app grid
Supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo describes the phone as an “AI agent phone” built around a continuous, context-aware interface rather than individual apps. He argues that controlling both the operating system and the hardware is the only way OpenAI can deliver a comprehensive agent service — and that the smartphone is the only device holding a user’s full real-time state: location, activity, communication, context. Whether anyone asked for that level of capture is another matter.
The phone reportedly uses a customised MediaTek Dimensity 9600 on TSMC’s N2P node, the same process as Apple’s upcoming A20 chips. Luxshare Precision Industry is believed to be the exclusive manufacturer, with Sunny Optical supplying camera modules. The headline spec is an image signal processor with an upgraded HDR pipeline, alongside two AI processors handling vision and language in parallel.
Mass production was originally targeted for 2028; Kuo has revised that to the first half of 2027, citing OpenAI’s planned IPO and intensifying competition. He projects combined 2027–28 shipments of around 30 million units if development stays on track.
The rest of the roadmap, and the lawsuit over it
Beyond the speaker and phone sit smart glasses, a smart lamp and possibly earbuds — further out, and some could be cancelled. The lineup traces to OpenAI’s $6.5 billion acquisition of Ive’s startup io Products and a hiring run that has brought more than 400 former Apple employees to the company. Apple responded with retention bonuses of up to $400,000 in restricted stock for its iPhone design team.
Apple sued OpenAI on July 10 over the alleged theft of trade secrets, including access to a proprietary metal finishing technique. Its filing is not subtle:
“OpenAI’s nascent hardware business now rests on the shakiest of foundations, rotten to its core by its illegal reliance on misappropriated trade secrets.”
OpenAI says it has “no interest in other companies’ trade secrets.” Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman argues the case is already slowing the hardware effort, deterring Apple engineers from interviewing and making suppliers wary. Apple has asked for an injunction that, if granted, could stop OpenAI shipping hardware at all.
Neither device has regional pricing or availability details yet. If the speaker’s expected $200–300 price carries over, that is about AED 735–1,100 in the UAE — assuming it reaches the region before the lawyers settle whether it can ship at all. The company’s consumer hardware plans land as its ChatGPT Atlas browser is being retired after less than a year, so OpenAI’s hardware will have to outlast its software habits.
Will OpenAI’s hardware launch in the UAE?
Nothing is confirmed yet. ChatGPT is available across the region and OpenAI’s consumer launches usually extend to Gulf markets, but no regional prices, carrier deals or retail plans have been reported. Expect clarity closer to the early-2027 launch window.
What is GPT-Live?
GPT-Live is the new generation of OpenAI voice models introduced in July 2026, designed for real-time conversation — it can listen and speak at the same time. The smart speaker reportedly uses it to talk.
Who is building OpenAI’s hardware?
The devices trace to OpenAI’s $6.5 billion acquisition of Jony Ive’s startup io Products, plus a hiring run of more than 400 former Apple employees — including designers Evans Hankey, Tang Tan and Scott Cannon. Luxshare is believed to be the phone’s manufacturer.
Leave a Reply