OpenAI’s first device will reportedly be a portable smart speaker

It is expected that OpenAI will begin its entry into the world of consumer devices with the release of a portable smart speaker that lacks a screen, according to what the British newspaper “Daily Mail” reported. Bloomberg Report on Tuesday. The device is being positioned as “a new kind of computer for the age of artificial intelligence,” Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported, adding that it “will serve as an AI companion living in the home.”

The device, written by Gorman, is expected to function in much the same way as today’s smart speakers: answering questions, playing media, and powering smart home devices, as well as responding to messages and taking advantage of the capabilities provided by OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

But the OpenAI device is expected to go a little further into homes by introducing a “personality” that will establish a human connection with users. The project will include “mechanical elements that can move on their own, creating the feeling of being alive,” Bloomberg reported.

The product leak comes days later Apple has filed a lawsuit against OpenAIAccusing the company of stealing its trade secrets. Apple claimed it had “discovered a pattern of theft of Apple trade secrets by OpenAI employees who previously worked at Apple.” Apple also described the cases it uncovered as “the tip of the iceberg.”

However, OpenAI feels that its new product “deviates significantly” from any Apple device currently on the market and that its new device is “unlikely” to violate any Apple trade secrets, according to anonymous sources described as familiar with OpenAI’s plans.

There’s been a lot of speculation recently about OpenAI’s hardware ambitions. The company has been linked to a potential release of AI-powered earbuds later this year or early 2027, and is also said to be working on a smartphone in partnership with component makers MediaTek, Qualcomm and Luxshare.

OpenAI’s hardware ambitions included a high-profile partnership with former Apple designer Jony Ive. One recent rumor was that the devices could include One is worn in the earbut OpenAI could have up to five different devices ready by the end of 2028.

OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, the parent company of CNET, in April 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging that it infringed Ziff Davis’s copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)