OpenAI's $300 'puck' speaker: why screenless AI is the new iPhone
jony ive and openai are reportedly building a battery-powered, hockey puck-shaped smart speaker priced over $300 for a 2027 launch. this move signals a shift from screen-based chatbots to ambient, voice-first ai hardware as the next major computing platform.
openai and jony ive are developing a doughnut-shaped, battery-powered device that functions as an advanced smart speaker without a display. the hardware, which could cost over $300 and launch as early as 2027, reportedly features robotic moving parts, lights, and sensors to visualize interactions, running on more sophisticated models than current chatgpt voice modes. designed for portability within the home, this device represents openai's first foray into physical products, targeting a post-smartphone computing paradigm centered on conversational ai. analysts view this as an attempt to preempt big tech incumbents by owning the hardware layer for multimodal ai agents.