OpenAI's first Jony Ive device reported as a $300 to $400 screenless smart speaker for 2027

The people cited by CNBC-TV18 asked not to be identified. They described a device built as an AI-first computer rather than a voice assistant. It would carry a camera system and other sensors. Lights would show when it is listening, and parts would move on their own so the object reads as alive. The report placed it against a smart speaker market that Amazon and Google dominate.

At $300 to $400 the speaker would sit above most smart speakers and below a standard iPhone. The people cited by CNBC-TV18 said OpenAI has discussed that band. The company has confirmed neither a name nor an exact ship date inside 2027.

TechRepublic reported the same $300 to $400 band on 7 August, citing Bloomberg and TechCrunch. It noted that the details remain unconfirmed. MacRumors reported on 28 July that the speaker was due in early 2027 at $200 to $300, having slipped past an initial target of this year. The two accounts do not agree on the price.

MacRumors also said the device would control smart home accessories, answer questions, play media and respond to messages. It said OpenAI does not regard Apple's HomePod or HomePod mini as comparable products.

Earlier form factor reports

In January, Chinese publications and a leaker known as Smart Pikachu described AI earbuds code-named Sweet Pea, built for a client called Gum Drop. A separate January report said the first version could be earbuds running a custom 2-nanometer processor. Wccftech, citing Taiwan's Economic Daily, reported a pen-like device codenamed Gumdrop, sized like an iPod Shuffle. It said OpenAI had approached Foxconn to make the device in Vietnam or the US.

Court filings narrowed the field. Documents in the trademark case said the device would be neither an in-ear product nor a wearable. Sam Altman has said it is not a phone.

Shifting timeline

OpenAI's public timeline has moved more than once. Chris Lehane, the company's chief global affairs officer, told a Davos panel in January that the device would be unveiled in the second half of 2026. A court filing reported on 10 February carried a sworn statement from Peter Welinder, a vice president and general manager. He said the first hardware device would not ship to customers before the end of February 2027. The same filing said OpenAI had not produced packaging or marketing material for it.

Then in June, CFO Sarah Friar said at the Liquity Summit in California that she had tried the device. She said OpenAI would unveil it by the end of this year. When asked whether it is an earpiece, she joked that Jony Ive would come and steal her teenage son if she answered.

Trademark and trade secret fights

The February statement came in a trademark fight with the startup Iyo, which sued OpenAI after it bought Ive's company io. OpenAI's lawyers said the company had reevaluated its branding and would not use the name io or IYO, in any capitalisation, for AI hardware products. The io acquisition was worth nearly $6.5 billion.

A second suit landed in July. Apple sued OpenAI on 10 July over alleged theft of trade secrets, and Apple did not name Ive. MacRumors reported that an aggressive recruitment campaign has brought more than 400 former Apple employees to OpenAI, and that Apple responded with retention bonuses of up to $400,000 in restricted stock units for its iPhone Product Design team.

What happens next

The speaker is slated for release in 2027, according to the people cited by CNBC-TV18. Beyond it, MacRumors reported that supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has described an "AI agent phone", with mass production moved to the first half of 2027 and projected combined shipments of around 30 million units across 2027 and 2028 if development stays on track. Earlier reporting relayed by Quartz put OpenAI's long-term ambition at as many as 100 million devices.

The one date OpenAI has put in a legal filing is a floor, not a launch: no customer shipments before the end of February 2027.