Overview
- A Bloomberg report Tuesday described a portable, screenless smart speaker that uses OpenAI’s ChatGPT and GPT‑Live voice to listen, speak and respond while moving between rooms on a rechargeable battery.
- The device is said to include cameras, environmental sensors and small mechanical elements to convey a “personality,” and it will control smart‑home devices, play media and surface proactive, personalized suggestions from a user’s data.
- OpenAI assembled the hardware team through its roughly $6.5 billion acquisition of io Products and a design partnership with Jony Ive’s LoveFrom while hiring many former Apple engineers to accelerate development.
- Apple has filed a lawsuit naming OpenAI and two former employees that alleges misappropriation of trade secrets and asks the court for remedies including an injunction; OpenAI says it is not aware of evidence supporting the complaint.
- OpenAI reportedly plans to unveil the product later this year with commercial availability aimed at 2027 but the legal fight, ongoing development and privacy concerns about cameras and access to personal data make the timeline and regulatory scrutiny uncertain.