Built with Jony Ive’s design studio and targeting a 2027 launch, the screenless ChatGPT-powered speaker is the opening act of a five-device hardware roadmap, and it has already sent Sonos shares tumbling
The device everyone assumed OpenAI was building turned out to be something else entirely. While industry watchers expected a smartphone, the company’s first consumer hardware product is a portable, screenless speaker that incorporates mechanical parts designed to shift on their own, giving it the quality of something animate rather than something waiting passively for a command.
What the Device Actually Does
The speaker operates using ChatGPT technology and performs tasks that people typically expect from smart home assistants such as controlling electronic devices, playing music, answering questions, and managing communications with contacts. However, what makes the speaker special is how it evolves over time. It picks up on the user’s habits and utilizes access to their email to figure out their needs before they are expressed.
The speaker employs a camera and sensors that enable it to have an awareness of the environment, which is absent in the existing smart speakers. The voice component of the device uses GPT-Live technology which enables it to listen and answer at the same time while making adjustments in conversation. The device uses a battery which makes it portable and usable all over the house rather than being limited to a wall outlet.
The Design Team Behind It
Jony Ive, Apple’s former chief design officer, is involved through his studio LoveFrom. Evans Hankey, Apple’s former industrial design head, is leading development of the speaker itself. The hardware ambition behind this team is not subtle. Sonos shares fell more than 10% in late trading following the Bloomberg report on the product.
The Apple Complication
The latest hardware presentation from OpenAI comes amid a legal battle initiated by Apple that alleges that OpenAI has been stealing its trade secrets. Apple is trying to block the release of the device with the help of a court injunction which means that there may be delays in the release. OpenAI argues that the newly presented product has significant differences from what Apple sells, although the new model of Apple’s device suggests that the two companies are very close to each other despite the completely opposite approaches they apply.
