Details about Jony Ive's secretive OpenAI collaboration have leaked from an internal staff call reviewed by The Wall Street Journal (paywalled), and here's what's been revealed.
The device won't be glasses or a phone – Ive apparently wasn't keen on making something you'd wear on the body, and both he and Sam Altman want to wean people off screens anyway. Instead, it's being pitched as a "third core device" that would sit in your pocket, or on your desk alongside a MacBook Pro and iPhone.
The leaked call reveals the gadget will be pocket-sized, contextually aware of your surroundings and life, and completely screen-free. Altman told OpenAI staff it's "the coolest piece of technology that the world will have ever seen" after testing Ive's prototype at home.
OpenAI is acquiring Ive's startup io for $6.5 billion, with Altman suggesting the deal could add $1 trillion in value to the company. The goal is to ship the device by late 2026, and OpenAI has ambitious plans to reach 100 million units "faster than any company has ever shipped 100 million of something new before."
Ive described the project as "a new design movement," but Altman is keen to keep everything under wraps to prevent competitors from copying their approach. The team has already been talking to suppliers about scaling production.
It's a bold vision that echoes classic Apple integration of hardware and software, though previous attempts at AI-first devices like Humane's AI Pin haven't exactly set the world on fire. Still, with Ive's design chops and OpenAI's AI leadership, the result could be interesting.
