Picture this: a hockey puck-sized device that sits on your kitchen counter, no screen in sight, yet it sees, hears, and responds to you with uncanny intelligence. That’s the vision OpenAI is reportedly building with legendary Apple designer Jony Ive — and if Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman is right, it could arrive as soon as 2027 with a price tag north of $300.
According to Gurman’s sources, the device is “essentially a smart speaker without a display” — battery-powered, doughnut-shaped, and designed to be carried around the house with one hand, much like Amazon’s ill-fated Echo Tap. But unlike the Tap, this isn’t just a Bluetooth speaker with Alexa tacked on. It’s being built from the ground up as an AI-first device.
What Makes This Different From Every Other Smart Speaker
The device reportedly features animated components that move when it’s responding or interacting with you — think lights, a camera system, and various sensors. It’s designed to work similarly to ChatGPT’s voice mode on smartphones, but with “more evolved tools for humanlike interactivity.” Gurman notes it will look and feel nothing like an Apple product, despite Ive’s involvement and OpenAI’s ongoing legal battles with Apple.
This distinction matters. Every major tech company has tried to make the smart speaker the hub of the smart home — Amazon with Echo, Google with Nest, Apple with HomePod. But they’ve all fundamentally been voice assistants first, hardware second. OpenAI’s approach flips that: the AI is the product, and the hardware merely serves it.
The Ive Factor
Jony Ive’s design firm, LoveFrom, has been working with OpenAI since 2023. Ive, who shaped the aesthetic of the iMac, iPod, iPhone, and Apple Watch, brings a design philosophy that prioritizes emotional resonance over spec sheets. If anyone can make a screenless AI device feel approachable rather than alien, it’s him.
But there’s tension here. Ive spent decades defining what “Apple design” means — clean lines, invisible seams, premium materials. Gurman’s sources say this device will deliberately avoid that language. That’s either a bold reinvention or a recipe for an identity crisis.
A Family of Devices?
Gurman reports this speaker-slash-pocket-assistant could be the first in a “family of devices” OpenAI has planned. That tracks with how Apple operates: introduce a form factor, then iterate. But OpenAI isn’t a hardware company — at least not yet. Manufacturing, supply chains, retail, support — these are entirely new muscles for Sam Altman’s team to build.
The 2027 timeline gives them breathing room. It also means we’ll likely hear much more about this project before launch. For now, it’s a fascinating signal: the AI race isn’t just about models anymore. It’s about the physical vessels those models inhabit.
Source: The Verge via Mark Gurman / Bloomberg
