OpenAI's 1st device could be a pair of earbuds
What's the story
OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is gearing up to launch its first-ever hardware device in the second half of 2026. The announcement was made by Chris Lehane, OpenAI's Chief Global Affairs Officer, at an Axios-hosted panel discussion at Davos. The upcoming product has been teased by CEO Sam Altman as a more "peaceful and calm" alternative to iPhones. Past reports suggest the company is working on a pocketable device without a screen.
Product speculation
Could it be an AirPods competitor?
While OpenAI has remained tight-lipped about its first hardware device, recent reports from Asian publications and leakers suggest it could be a pair of earbuds. The device, codenamed "Sweet Pea," is said to feature a unique design compared to existing earbuds. It may run on a custom 2nm chip and perform AI tasks locally instead of relying on cloud requests.
Production strategy
OpenAI's manufacturing and sales plans
A major Taiwanese newspaper reported that OpenAI is considering partnering with China-based Luxshare for manufacturing its first device. However, the company may eventually choose Taiwan's Foxconn. In its first year of sales, OpenAI hopes to ship 40-50 million units of the device. This move comes as a way for the company to gain more control over the development and distribution of its AI assistant, ChatGPT.
Tech evolution
Hardware push and design team
OpenAI's move into hardware is part of a larger trend in Silicon Valley to create new interfaces for interacting with AI. The company has teamed up with Apple's former design chief Jony Ive on this project. The internal team working on the collaboration, called "io," recently added Janum Trivedi, an engineer and interface designer known for his work on iPadOS features like Split View and Multitasking Drag & Drop.