OpenAI targets 2027 smart speaker launch amid Apple lawsuit

OpenAI is planning to enter the consumer hardware market with a smart speaker slated for release in 2027. The device will leverage an advanced version of ChatGPT Voice Mode to play media, answer queries, and respond to messages.

Unlike static smart speakers from Amazon, Apple, and Google, OpenAI’s device features mechanical elements that move autonomously. It will include a camera, sensors, and a rechargeable battery, allowing it to be moved between rooms or plugged into a single location.

The company intends the device to act as a highly personalized AI companion. By drawing on a user’s personal information, such as emails, the speaker is designed to learn its owner's habits and anticipate their needs.

The smart speaker is one of approximately five physical products currently under development at OpenAI. The startup is also working on an AI device that could eventually replace the smartphone entirely, a move that would directly disrupt the mobile hardware market.

This hardware expansion represents a significant capital deployment for the AI startup, following its $6.4 billion acquisition of device startup io Products last year. That deal brought on Jony Ive, Apple’s former chief design officer, along with former Apple vice president Tang Tan and engineer Chang Liu.

However, this hardware strategy is now colliding with a major legal threat that could derail the company's product roadmap. Apple is suing OpenAI for trade secret theft, alleging the AI company’s hardware division illegally obtained manufacturing designs and prototypes.

Apple claims Tan organized efforts to obtain sensitive materials about its future products. The iPhone maker also alleges Liu stole a company laptop containing confidential information when she departed.

The legal dispute highlights the intense talent war between legacy tech giants and AI startups. Apple claims OpenAI has hired more than 400 of its employees. The tech giant is seeking financial damages and an injunction to stop OpenAI from using any allegedly pilfered confidential information.

OpenAI told Bloomberg it took Apple’s allegations "seriously" but was not "aware of any evidence that this complaint has merit." If the litigation hampers the hardware division, the 2027 smart speaker timeline could be subject to significant delays.