The device will reportedly use ChatGPT for querying and help control smart home appliances while also acting as an AI companion.
OpenAI has been tight-lipped about the AI hardware it’s building with former Apple design chief Jony Ive, but a new leak reveals their first product could be a smart home speaker.
The speaker is reportedly designed to work as an AI companion at home. In addition to querying, the speaker could be used to control smart home appliances, play music, respond to messages, and support a range of other ChatGPT capabilities, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports.
Sources describe the device as “mobile” and “screen-free,” suggesting most operations would be voice-based. This would also make the rumored product a competitor to Alexa, Siri, and Gemini-based smart speakers from Amazon, Apple, and Google, respectively.
OpenAI hopes to stand out by positioning its AI as an expert on matters and equipping it with a personality that can customize its responses and connect with the user on a human level, the report adds. The speaker is likely to use ChatGPT’s new GPT-Live voice model. Barring any legal hurdles, OpenAI could unveil the device this year and begin shipping it to users in 2027. Bloomberg says.
Apple has been rumored to be developing AI-powered smart home devices. Bloomberg’s report arrives after the iPhone-maker sued OpenAI for allegedly stealing its trade secrets. The lawsuit claims that after acquiring Ive’s io Products, OpenAI poached Apple employees or pressured them to divulge their work during job interviews
The complaint primarily targets Tang Yew Tan and Chang Liu, two former Apple employees who have now joined OpenAI. Tan is OpenAI’s current hardware chief, and he has been accused of conducting these interviews. Liu, meanwhile, has been accused of failing to return an Apple-issued laptop and exploiting a software bug to gain unauthorized access to Apple’s systems.
