OpenAI Reportedly Plans AI Companion Speaker to Challenge Apple

OpenAI is working with former Apple design chief Jony Ive on its first consumer AI device, seeking to move generative artificial intelligence beyond phones and computers and into everyday environments. The screenless product is expected to rely on voice and contextual awareness, positioning it as a potential challenger to the smart-speaker category established by devices such as Amazon’s Echo.

The device is reportedly about the size of a hockey puck, with a doughnut-like form, camera sensors and moving components designed to perceive its surroundings and interact with users. OpenAI is targeting a 2027 launch, according to recent reports, with an expected price of more than $300 and potentially between $300 and $400 — a premium to most mainstream smart speakers.

OpenAI and former Apple designer Jony Ive are extending generative AI beyond software services into consumer hardware, with their first product set to be a smart speaker. Combining cameras, facial recognition and environmental awareness, the device is intended to serve as an everyday AI interface capable of understanding users and their surroundings. It could also reshape how people interact with machines and shop.

A team of more than 200 people is developing the smart speaker, which is expected to ship in early 2027 and cost $200–$300. The product will be able to observe its surroundings, proactively guide user behavior, and use technology similar to Apple’s Face ID to verify identities and complete purchases. It will be the first AI hardware product from the OpenAI-Jony Ive partnership.