OpenAI developing puck-sized “ChatGPT” smart speaker with camera, sensors, and $300–$400 price

OpenAI's long-awaited hardware device has taken a clearer shape. According to Bloomberg, the product will be shaped like a doughnut roughly the size of a hockey puck, with moving parts intended to give it personality, and is expected to cost more than $300. The device is essentially a smart speaker without a display, designed to be easy to carry around the home with one hand.Design, materials and pricingThe device is being developed in partnership with LoveFrom, the design studio founded by former longtime Apple chief design officer Jony Ive, whose io hardware startup OpenAI acquired for $6.5 billion to push into hardware. Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, who broke the story, said the speaker will have moving parts meant to give it 'personality,' along with speaker grilles and other interactive elements. OpenAI is aiming for a 'premium look' built from upscale materials including high-quality metal, with pricing discussed in the $300 to $400 range - notably above most existing smart speakers, whose Amazon lineup currently spans roughly $40 to $240.'Apple Is Getting This Wrong': OpenAI Alleges As It Releases Chats & Emails With iPhone Maker In Massive Legal WarCameras, sensors and an 'AI-first computer'Beyond audio, the device is expected to pack in more sensing hardware than a typical speaker. Reports point to a camera system and additional sensors, allowing the AI to factor awareness of its physical surroundings into its responses. OpenAI is reportedly positioning the product as an 'AI-first computer' rather than a conventional voice assistant, capable of natural, ongoing conversation similar to ChatGPT's revamped voice experience. According to SiliconANGLE's account of the Bloomberg report, the device is being built to 'work in different positions,' such as being held in someone's hand or set down on furniture around the house, with the moving parts meant to make it feel 'more alive.' A lighting system will also show when the device is listening.Launch timelineThe product is slated for a 2027 release, and OpenAI is described as still developing it despite having originally planned to unveil the device this year ahead of that commercial launch.The Apple legal backdropThe device's development is unfolding alongside an active legal dispute with Apple. Apple has sued OpenAI claiming the company misled an Apple supplier into developing a metal-finishing technique similar to the one Apple uses, and has requested an injunction that could delay the product's launch if granted. OpenAI filed a motion to dismiss the suit on August 5, arguing it is building something "entirely new and different from any Apple product," with an internal investigation concluding the device does not draw on Apple's trade secrets.

OpenAI's upcoming AI device is a hockey-puck-sized, doughnut-shaped smart speaker with no display, reports Bloomberg. The product is meant to be easy to carry around with one hand, and it will have "moving parts that help give it personality," along with a price tag around $300 to $400. Bloomberg describes it as an AI-centric device that will stand out from current smart speakers. There are speaker grilles and microphones for voice-based chats with ChatGPT, and the AI model used will have human-like responses and will learn more about the user over time. Moving components will help show when the speaker is responding, and lights will show that it is listening. A camera system and sensors will feed the product information about the user's environment. It is battery-powered so it can be moved from room to room, and it will reportedly use a premium metal material. In its theft of trade secrets lawsuit against OpenAI, Apple claimed the company misled an Apple supplier into developing a metal finishing technique similar to what Apple uses. Former Apple design chief Jony Ive is designing the device for OpenAI. OpenAI acquired Ive's io device startup last year, adding multiple former Apple design team members to its hardware teams. Bloomberg says the portable speaker "is not something Apple has come close to launching," which supports OpenAI's claim that it has no interest in Apple's trade secrets. OpenAI said today that it is "building something entirely new and different from anything at Apple." Apple maintains OpenAI has developed its hardware using information sourced from Apple. Apple is working on a home hub that's supposed to come out as soon as this year, but it has a display and square form factor. Apple also has the HomePod mini speaker, but it is corded and not easily moved. Apple is also developing a tabletop robot that may share more similarities with OpenAI's device. It's said to have a display and a motorized arm for movement, but the robot isn't going to launch until 2027 at the earliest. OpenAI has not stopped development on its new hardware product, and hopes to introduce it later this year ahead of a 2027 launch.Tags: ChatGPT, OpenAIThis article, "OpenAI's ChatGPT Speaker Will Be Hockey Puck-Sized and Cost Over $300" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums