OpenAI is developing a smart speaker with an integrated camera as its first hardware collaboration with former Apple designer Jony Ive. The device, set for a February 2027 launch, will include facial recognition capabilities similar to Face ID and AI-powered features that learn about users and their surroundings. Priced between $200 and $300, the speaker will allow purchases and provide contextual suggestions, such as recommending an early bedtime before morning meetings.

The smart speaker represents OpenAI's initial foray into consumer hardware, with additional products including a smart lamp and AI glasses planned for 2028 or later. Ive's design firm LoveFrom, acquired by OpenAI in May 2025, is providing the industrial designs while OpenAI engineers handle development. The collaboration has faced internal challenges, with employees complaining about LoveFrom's secrecy and slow design revisions. Former Apple designers Evans Hankey and Tang Tan are leading the industrial design efforts.

This device directly competes with Apple's upcoming home hub, which features similar camera and speaker functionality for video calls and smart home control. While OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has promised this will be "the coolest piece of technology that the world will have ever seen," the company must overcome both technical hurdles and privacy concerns about always-on visual and audio tracking in homes.