OpenAI's first hardware product may take the form of a screenless portable smart speaker.

Foreign media including IT outlet 9to5Mac reported on July 14 that the device is being developed with a camera and multiple sensors.

This is the first case in which a concrete outline has emerged since OpenAI formally signalled its entry into the hardware market. OpenAI announced in May 2025 that it would enter the hardware business with io Products of Jony Ive (조니 아이브), but the actual form of the product had not been known.

Initial clues came during a trademark lawsuit. iyO filed a suit against OpenAI and io Products, and court documents confirmed first that the initial product is neither a wearable nor an ear-worn device. Attention then focused on what category the product belongs to.

Based on what is currently known, OpenAI's first device is a portable, screenless smart speaker. The product can be used in a fixed location, but it is reported to be designed with a rechargeable battery so it can be carried from room to room over the course of a day. It is seen as combining features of fixed home appliances and mobile devices.

The market expects comparisons with Apple's HomePod to be unavoidable. With related discussion growing again amid Apple's trade secret lawsuit, OpenAI is reported to believe its first product "does not infringe any trade secrets." That is read as a response that reflects the legal sensitivity surrounding hardware design and product concepts.

The first product is not expected to be the only device. OpenAI is reported to be developing around five products at the same time. Its long-term plan is also said to include a mobile artificial intelligence device that could replace a smartphone. That means even if the first product starts as a speaker-type device, the ultimate aim is a broader lineup of personal AI devices.

OpenAI is also said to have considered wearable products including a pendant form, and to have shown interest in the home robot sector. What has emerged first this time, however, is not a body-worn device but an indoor-focused, voice and sensor-based device.

This trend aligns with OpenAI's plan not to remain simply a software company but to design dedicated devices that change how AI is used. If the first product is released, OpenAI's hardware strategy could develop into a structure that starts with a smart speaker and expands into mobile AI devices and home robotics.