OpenAI planning ChatGPT smart speaker with camera for 2027 launch

According to Bloomberg's reporting, OpenAI's first hardware device will be a smart speaker without a screen, featuring a camera and additional sensors designed to understand the user's environment. The device will be rechargeable and portable, allowing users to carry it with them while interacting with ChatGPT through voice. The speaker will support smart home controls, media playback, question-answering, and messaging capabilities, and it will run on GPT-Live, the upgraded voice model OpenAI announced the previous week.

A distinctive feature of the device is its use of mechanical elements that move on their own, intended to create a more humanlike connection with users. This aligns with an earlier report from The Information in February about a similar device equipped with a camera to recognize nearby items or people. The rumored speaker is set to launch in 2027 as part of a larger hardware ambition: OpenAI is currently planning roughly five devices overall, according to Bloomberg.

The hardware initiative is being led in partnership with Jony Ive, the celebrated industrial designer formerly at Apple. OpenAI's acquisition of Ive's design company, io Products, for nearly $6.5 billion（約1兆円）, was the financial foundation for this collaboration. The announcement comes shortly after Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI alleging theft of hardware secrets, though OpenAI responded on Tuesday that it is "not aware of any evidence that this complaint has merit."

Separately, OpenAI is preparing to release another device called the Codex Micro, created in partnership with Work Louder, scheduled for launch on July 15th. OpenAI declined to comment immediately on the Bloomberg report at the time of publication.

OpenAI's move into consumer hardware marks a significant shift for the company from pure software and API services into the physical device market. The choice of a smart speaker as the first device aligns with the existing installed base of voice assistants in homes worldwide, but OpenAI's emphasis on mechanical elements that move on their own suggests a differentiation strategy—moving beyond passive voice interaction toward a more embodied, physically expressive form of AI presence. The integration of GPT-Live, announced last week, indicates the company sees voice as central to its hardware vision.

The partnership with Jony Ive, Apple's legendary former design chief, signals OpenAI's seriousness about hardware aesthetics and user experience at a level comparable to consumer electronics leaders. The $6.5 billion（約1兆円） acquisition of io Products was explicitly framed as securing Ive's design talent; this smart speaker announcement validates that investment. The roughly five-device hardware roadmap suggests OpenAI is not treating this as a one-off experiment but as a foundational pillar of its future strategy, though the 2027 timeline means the products remain more than two years away from consumer availability.

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