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Earlier this year, ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and former Apple designer Jony Ive’s latest company announced a partnership that would see the two work together on an AI-focused hardware project.
Now, a new report suggests the project may have hit technical challenges around that first device. OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman, has previously called this the first of “a family of devices.”
A report from the Financial Times, speaking with anonymous sources familiar with OpenAI’s plans, says the first-gen device will be a similar size to a smartphone, but it won’t feature a screen.
It’s expected to be able to take both audio and visual information from its environment. That would be possible through a camera and microphone built into the device, with some sources claiming there may be more than one camera.
It’s likely to be a device you carry and place nearby, rather than a wearable item. That may mean it will differ from devices like the Plaud Note AI pin designed to be worn on your clothes and listen to your everyday conversations.
These sources say the brand intends to have its AI always on, so you won’t turn it on with your voice or a button. However, the project is reportedly struggling to figure out how to teach its AI to know when it should interact with a conversation.
One source said OpenAI was also focusing work on its “personality” for the device. A source said, “The concept is that you should have a friend who’s a computer who isn’t your weird AI girlfriend.”
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Elsewhere in the report, sources say all of these problems are a normal part of the development process. It’s rumored the project is targeting a late 2026 or an early 2027 release date.
So far, the brand has kept its project’s details secret as it fears competitors may copy its plans. The Wall Street Journal reported in May that Altman told the company’s employees they had “the chance to do the biggest thing we’ve ever done as a company.”
Disclosure: Ziff Davis, PCMag’s parent company, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in April 2025, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.
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