OpenAI aims to ship its first device in 2026, and it could be earbuds

OpenAI made a lot of hype about the hardware last year after acquired former Apple design chief Jony Ive’s startup io. While the company isn’t privy to any upcoming products, OpenAI’s Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane said in a statement Axios hosts panel in Davos The AI ​​startup is on track to announce its first hardware device in the second half of this year.

Last November, Altman described the device as having the potential to be more “peaceful and quiet” than iPhones. Previous reports suggested the company wanted to build it screenless and pocketable device.

While the company is not spilling any details, the reporting is more recent than Asian publication and people leak suggests OpenAI’s first device could be a pair of earbuds. According to reports, this device is called “Sweet Pea” and will have a unique design compared to existing earbuds. The earbuds work on a special 2-nanometer processor and handle AI tasks locally instead of sending requests to the cloud.

A separate report from a major Taiwanese newspaper noted that OpenAI was exploring a partnership with China-based Luxshare for manufacturing, but ended up choosing Taiwan’s Foxconn. The report also said in its first year of sales, OpenAI aims to ship 40 to 50 million units.

OpenAI’s ChatGPT has nearly a billion users per week, but companies must rely on other devices and platforms for distribution. With their own devices, they may want to control the development and distribution of AI assistants and also release exclusive and special features.

However, replacing existing earbuds like AirPods in the daily life of users will be a challenge if there is no strong integration with the operating system.

So far, there have been no notable success stories of AI devices. Last year, Humane Pin was sold to HP. Rabbits are still just chugging along after the initial hype of 2024. And AI friend necklace Receive quick reactions to marketing tactics.

That said, big tech companies are making moves into wearables. The Ray-Ban Meta glasses have grown in scope and scale to the point where Facebook manufacturers unable to comply with requests. And Amazon recently acquired Beean AI meeting recorder that can moonlight as a friend.