Introduction
Recent and reliable media reports published by Bloomberg on Thursday stated that the physical consumer device eagerly anticipated by technology and artificial intelligence enthusiasts from specialized company OpenAI will be a highly sophisticated smart speaker. Precise leaks indicated that the device will come in the shape of a completely hollow circular doughnut, with a compact size roughly resembling a standard ice hockey puck, and a retail price exceeding the $300 USD mark. This innovative and entirely new device has been equipped with specialized moving mechanical parts designed to give it a unique personal touch that interacts intelligently and with high flexibility with users in their home environment, representing a qualitative and radical shift in how artificial intelligence systems are integrated into our daily lives away from familiar and eye-straining phone and computer screens.
- Innovative design and unique circular shape
- Hardware ambitions collide with legal battle against Apple
- Apple’s pursuit of a strict injunction
- Smart device in development for many years
- Frequently asked questions
Innovative design and unique circular shape
This new device, which in its technical essence is a smart speaker completely devoid of digital visual screens and small enough to be carried around the house in one hand with ease, represents the most detailed and accurate picture yet of what OpenAI has been building and developing in close and continuous cooperation with world-renowned industrial designer Jony App. This strategic collaboration began since the tech company successfully acquired LoveFrom, the design firm specialized in and personally run by him. Based on information from people closely familiar with the proceedings and details of this secret project, the press report described a revolutionary product that completely and boldly abandons any traditional display screen in favor of total reliance on advanced voice interaction based first and foremost on advanced generative artificial intelligence algorithms. This bold trend toward screenless devices reflects the company’s deep desire to provide a user experience relying entirely on highly intelligent voice commands, which could radically and future-wise alter how people interact with technology in their homes and set new and innovative standards in the smart speaker market, which is currently witnessing fierce and heated competition.
Hardware ambitions collide with legal battle against Apple
The development and manufacturing of this promising and intriguing device has become complexly and disturbingly intertwined with an escalating and fierce legal dispute between OpenAI and technology industry giant Apple. On Wednesday, OpenAI’s management submitted a formal request asking a U.S. federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Apple regarding trade secret misappropriation, strongly and with complete confidence arguing that OpenAI is building and developing something entirely new and radically different from any product or technology currently in Apple’s possession. Apple had initiated a strict lawsuit against OpenAI last July, claiming in court papers that the latter had orchestrated a deliberate and systematic campaign to obtain confidential industrial information by poaching and hiring former employees, including OpenAI’s current head of hardware, Tang Tan, and by exploiting secret supplier relationships to accelerate its strong and aggressive push into the intensely competitive consumer hardware market.
Apple’s pursuit of a strict injunction
Apple strove hard to obtain a preliminary and urgent injunction earlier this week to categorically prevent OpenAI from using or exploiting any proprietary technical information belonging to it within its projects. For its part, OpenAI strongly and categorically denied these serious allegations that threaten its stability. Its prominent lawyers wrote in the court filing submitted on Wednesday a clear phrase stating: OpenAI has no use, need, or desire whatsoever to benefit from Apple’s trade secrets to develop our independent and innovative products. The prestigious Wall Street Journal also reported in a detailed report that OpenAI described the lawsuit filed against it as a frivolous and strangely personal lawsuit, in a lengthy post published and distributed on its official blog aimed at the public and investors.
Smart device in development for many years
OpenAI’s management confirmed during its active participation in the World Economic Forum in Davos last January that it is targeting the second half of 2026 as a reference period for this device to make its public debut, as the company’s chief global affairs officer, Chris Lehane, told specialized news outlet Axios that the company is on the right track and moving forward steadily to achieve its goals. The company’s CEO, Sam Altman, had previously described this anticipated product as being much more peaceful and quieter than the traditional smartphone that constantly distracts attention throughout the day. This device differs completely from the Codex Micro programming keyboard released by OpenAI in July as a limited-edition accessory for developers. The new details reported by Bloomberg, including the distinct circular shape, interactive moving parts, and price point clearly exceeding $300, point to a product directly and forcefully targeting the mass consumer market, positioning the company as a direct and explicit competitor in the smart home space long dominated by major tech companies like Amazon and Google.
Frequently asked questions
Question: What is the expected exterior design of OpenAI’s new device?
Answer: The device is designed in the shape of a hollow circular doughnut about the size of an ice hockey puck, functioning as a smart speaker completely devoid of visual screens and containing built-in moving parts to impart a unique interactive personal touch.
Question: How much will the estimated cost of this smart device be when launched on the market for consumers?
Answer: It is strongly expected that the device’s retail cost will exceed $300 USD, and may reach $400, classifying it among premium and luxury home appliance pricing categories compared to some competing devices.
Question: What is the nature of the legal dispute between the manufacturing company and Apple?
Answer: Apple accuses the company of attempting to illicitly acquire important trade secrets by hiring former engineers and employees to obtain information that accelerates the development of its physical hardware, an allegation that OpenAI completely denies.
Question: Who is the famous designer behind the design of this innovative device?
Answer: The device is being designed and developed in close cooperation with world-renowned designer Jony App, the former designer of famous Apple products, through his private and independent company named LoveFrom.
Question: When is the official launch of this device to consumers in global markets expected?
Answer: According to official statements issued by prominent company officials at the Davos Forum, OpenAI is targeting the launch of this promising device on the market during the second half of 2026.
