MacRumors

Apple's next-generation C2 modem will bring support for 5G satellite connectivity to this year's iPhone 18 Pro models, based on claims made by a Chinese leaker.

In a post on Weibo, the account "Fixed Focus Digital" said that Apple's C2 baseband modem – expected to debut in iPhone 18 Pro models – will support NR-NTN, or New Radio Non-Terrestrial Networks.

The NR-NTN standard can relate to direct phone-to-satellite links as well as the use of satellites as backhaul for carrier networks to extend coverage into remote areas. Going on a machine translation, the leaker appears to suggest Apple's implementation will allow iPhones to connect directly to satellites for internet access.

This is not the first time we have heard rumors that the iPhone 18 Pro will support 5G satellite connectivity. However, it is the first occasion that NR-NTN support has been explicitly tied to Apple's C2 modem as a technical specification of its baseband stack.

Last October, The Information's Wayne Ma reported that Apple plans to add support in iPhones as early as this year for 5G networks that "aren't tethered to Earth's surface, which includes satellites." This would reportedly give the iPhone full internet access over satellite.

Then in November, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman referenced Ma's report and said that Apple is developing "satellite over 5G" for this year's iPhones, allowing the devices to leverage cellular towers to tap satellites for increased coverage when standard networks aren't available.

Note that Gurman's report describes support for a satellite backhaul for carrier networks, not the direct device-to-satellite model that Fixed Focus Digital latest leak and Ma's report suggests.

According to Gurman, Apple is also working on several additional satellite features, including an API to let developers add satellite connections to third-party apps, satellite-powered Apple Maps, and support for photos in satellite messages. Apple also reportedly aims to eliminate the need to physically point the device toward the sky, allowing satellite to stay connected in your pocket or even indoors.

It's unclear what stage of development these other features are in, and there's a high likelihood that they do not relate to Apple's initial adoption of 5G satellite connectivity this year. Bringing many of these features to market will also require major upgrades to Globalstar's aging satellite infrastructure, which Apple currently relies on.

Apple's existing satellite features on iPhone 14 models and newer are limited to the Emergency SOS feature, the Find My and Messages apps, and roadside assistance. These features require you to have a clear view of the sky for direct satellite communication.

Previous reporting suggests that the C2 modem will be more capable than the current C1 and C1X. The C2 may feature mmWave 5G connectivity, for example, and it is likely to be closer in performance to the Qualcomm modem chips that it will replace.

Fixed Focus Digital previously broke the news ahead of launch about the iPhone 16e name for Apple's upcoming iPhone SE successor.

Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models as soon as early March, but if you can, this is one generation you should skip because there's something much better in the works.

We're waiting on 14-inch and 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, with few changes other than the processor upgrade. There won't be any tweaks to the design or the display, but later this year, a massive refresh is coming. Rumors suggest that there won't be just one ‌MacBook Pro‌ refresh in 2026, but two.

After launching M5 Pro and M5 Max ‌MacBook Pro‌ models in the spring, Apple will do another update in late 2026, introducing the first OLED ‌MacBook Pro‌ models. The OLED ‌MacBook Pro‌ is expected to feature a design refresh, faster M6 chips, all new display technology, and, in a first for the Mac, touch screen capabilities.

It's going to be the biggest update to the Mac lineup since Apple silicon chips came out in 2020. iPhones have used OLED for years, and Apple brought it to the iPad Pro in 2024, but Macs don't use OLED yet.

Apple said for years and years that the Mac wouldn't get a touch screen, but times change. Multiple rumors suggest that touch capabilities are coming, making the Mac more like an iPad. Touch-based controls will be available right alongside traditional mouse and keyboard input options.

The OLED ‌MacBook Pro‌ models will be the first to use Apple's 2-nanometer chip technology, and they could even be the first Macs with cellular capabilities. With so many changes in store, it doesn't make much sense to buy an M5 Pro or an M5 Max ‌MacBook Pro‌ with much better options coming just months later.

OLED touch displays will be limited to the higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch models because of the cost, so the warning isn't applicable to the standard M5 ‌MacBook Pro‌ that came out last fall. The entry-level ‌MacBook Pro‌ isn't expected to get the same upgrades, though it is likely to get an M6 chip.

It's also possible OLED will be so expensive that it's limited to a single, super expensive high-end model, but we're still probably looking at M6 chip upgrades and a design refresh across the lineup.

Two Mac refreshes in a single year is unusual, but not unheard of. Apple refreshed the ‌MacBook Pro‌ with M2 Pro and ‌M2‌ Max chips in January 2023, and then updated the machines again with M3 Pro and M3 Max chips in October 2023.

Normally a Mac refresh results in a Buy Now recommendation from us, but this year, with rumors of two updates in 2026 and so much expected from the later models, those interested in a high-end, premium ‌MacBook Pro‌ should plan to wait.

Gaming computer company Razer today started accepting pre-orders for the Razer Boomslang mouse, which is being released to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the original peripheral.

The original Razer Boomslang was one of the first gaming mice, providing a wheel that boasted more precise mouse tracking than other mic on the market. The new model features a 45,000 DPI Razer Pro second-generation optical sensor, 4th-generation Razer optical mouse switches that prevent double-clicking and debounce delays, 8,000Hz hyperpolling wireless technology for lower latency, and an ambidextrous build with PU leather buttons for enhanced grip.

Razer is including a Mouse Dock Pro for magnetic wireless charging, plus the mouse supports 9-zone Razer Chroma RGB lighting that can react to more than 300 Chroma-integrated games. There are eight customizable buttons that can be used for shortcuts and macros.

Each Boomslang comes with a collector's LED display frame that features every element of the internal design.

The newly revamped Razer Boomslang is limited edition, and it is priced at $1,337. Razer is making just 1,337 units in total, each one with a unique serial number. U.S. preorders went live on February 10 at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time and have sold out. Preorders in Europe will begin on February 11 at 8:00 a.m. CET, and in Asia on February 11 at 8:00 a.m. SGT, and are also likely to sell out.

Amid rumors that Apple is scaling back its AI health plans, Google today expanded its subscription-based Fitbit AI personal health coach service to more users worldwide, including those who are on iOS. Prior to now, the Fitbit service was limited to Android users.

The Gemini-powered Fitbit personal health coach is described as a 24/7 digital advisor that’s meant to work as a virtual fitness trainer, sleep coach, and health and wellness advisor. Users start with a 5 to 10 minute conversation with the coach to outline their motivations and goals, with the Fitbit app then providing health insights in the morning after the user wakes up, after workouts, and before bed.

The app is able to generate a personalized workout plan that tracks core fitness metrics, and it offers up sleep analysis and suggestions for improving sleep. It tracks vitals such as heart rate, temperature, and blood oxygen, plus there is a built-in chatbot for asking all kinds of health-related questions.

Apple was supposedly working on a similar AI health coach feature, which was going to be part of a Health+ service planned for launch in iOS 27. Earlier this month, Bloomberg said that Apple is scaling back its AI health plans.

Apple is no longer planning to launch an Apple Health+ service that will give users AI health recommendations based on personal health data, but some of the components that Apple developed for the health coach could be repurposed and rolled out as other features as soon as this year.

Google’s Fitbit AI health coach is now available to Fitbit Premium subscribers in the United States, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. Both iOS and Android users can take advantage of the feature.

Google sells several Fitbit health devices, including the Charge 6, Inspire 3, Versa 4, and Sense 2. Google’s Pixel Watch 3 and Pixel Watch 4 also work with Fitbit Premium and the AI health coach feature. Fitbit Premium is priced starting at $9.99 per month.

Apple will soon do away with iTunes Wish Lists featuring movie and TV shows, according to emails going out to customers as of today. Apple says that people who still have wish lists should migrate items to their Apple TV watchlist before the feature is removed.

Each email that Apple is sending out includes a PDF with TV shows and movies that are on the individual's iTunes Wish List. Apple says that users can tap on each link and then tap on the "+" button to get items to appear in the ‌Apple TV‌ watchlist.

Apple began phasing out TV show and movie wish lists with the launch of iOS 17.2. In fact, the iOS 17.2 update removed wish lists entirely, without giving customers a heads-up. People with extensive wish lists were understandably upset, and a slew of complaints led Apple to reintroduce iTunes wish lists in iOS 17.3.

Apple wanted to remove wish lists because it migrated iTunes TV show and movie purchase options from the iTunes app to the TV app, and since iOS 17.2, the ‌Apple TV‌ app has been the sole place to purchase TV shows and movies on iOS devices.

Apple kept wish lists around after reintroducing them in iOS 17.3, but now the feature will be going away. This time around, Apple is notifying customers, so anyone who wants to keep their wish list should make sure to migrate it to the ‌Apple TV‌ watchlist by following Apple's emailed instructions.

Apple did not provide a specific date for the wish list removal.

Apple's Find My feature, photos, and some iCloud services are experiencing service interruptions at the current time, so if you've run into problems, it's because of network issues.

According to Apple's System Status page, there is a ‌Find My‌ outage that is causing the service to be slow or unavailable for some users.

There are also issues with ‌iCloud‌ Account and Sign In, ‌iCloud‌ Calendar, ‌iCloud‌ Contacts, ‌iCloud‌ Mail, ‌iCloud‌ Web Apps, and Photos. Apple says that some users may be experiencing issues with these services, though not everyone is affected.

‌Find My‌ has been down since 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time, while the other services have been having problems since 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. We'll update this article when the outages have resolved.

Update: Apple says all of the issues were resolved between 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Meta today announced several new AI features for popular social network Facebook. The capabilities will be available for profile pictures, photos, posts, stories, and more.

Meta AI's image editing tools can be used to animate a profile picture, adding motion to a still image. Meta says there are several preset animations like confetti, headphones, wave, and heart to choose from, with more to be added throughout the year. There does not appear to be an option for creating custom animations.

Text-based AI prompts can be used for creating images for Facebook Stories and Memories. After uploading a photo to Stories or viewing a memory to share, the Meta AI-powered Restyle option can be used to describe changes that you want to make to the image. Meta will also offer presets with different style options, moods, lighting, colors, and backdrops.

Finally, Facebook is getting an option for adding an animated backdrop to Feed text posts to make them "more fun and expressive." When creating a text post on Facebook, tapping on the rainbow-colored "A" icon will provide multiple still and animated backgrounds to choose from. Meta plans to introduce seasonal backgrounds in the future to make posts feel "timely, festive, and a little more fun."

Meta has been heavily pushing its AI products in Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram. Conversations with Meta's generative AI are used for ad targeting and personalization purposes, with no way to opt out. Meta AI is also used for several image editing and generation features in Facebook and Instagram, plus Meta has adopted it for search across Meta apps.

To recognize Heart Month, Apple is launching a new February Apple Watch activity challenge. Apple Watch owners can earn a special award by completing a workout to fill their Exercise ring on Saturday, February 14, which is Valentine's Day.

Close your exercise ring on Valentine's Day, February 14, to earn this award. Your heart will love you for it.

Like all Apple Watch Activity Challenges, the Heart Month challenge will be accompanied by an award that can be viewed in the Fitness app as well as a series of animated stickers that can be used in the Messages app.

Apple often also debuts themed Heart Month content in the App Store, Apple TV app, Apple Podcasts, and Apple Books during the month of February.

Apple is aiming for the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max to have the same starting prices as the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, according to Jeff Pu, an equity analyst with investment firm GF Securities.

In a research note today, obtained by MacRumors, Pu said his firm's recent "supply chain research" indicates that Apple is focused on "cost management," in an attempt to keep the starting prices of the iPhone 18 Pro models either "unchanged" or at a "similar level" compared to the iPhone 17 Pro models.

In the U.S., the iPhone 17 Pro starts at $1,099 and the iPhone 17 Pro Max starts at $1,199.

For example, Pu believes that Apple has been negotiating with Samsung and SK Hynix to achieve relatively "favorable" memory chip deals, amid skyrocketing prices for DRAM and NAND storage. He also expects Apple to find ways to lower the costs of some other core iPhone components, including the display and cameras.

Another analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo, also said that Apple's plan for the iPhone 18 Pro models was to "avoid raising prices as much as possible." He predicted that Apple would at least keep starting prices "flat" compared to the iPhone 17 Pro models.

Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro models in September.

Thanks to Apple's Sound Recognition feature, the HomePod mini and second-generation HomePod can send you notifications when they recognize smoke or carbon monoxide alarm sounds. Keep reading to learn how it works.

With Sound Recognition, HomePod can detect the sound of a smoke or carbon monoxide alarm in your home, and alert you by sending a notification to your iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch.

It's a neat addition if you don't own a smart detector, although Apple warns that the feature should not be relied upon "in circumstances where users may be harmed or injured," or in "high-risk or emergency situations."

The Sound Recognition feature is accessible in the Home app. If your Home system is connected to a smart camera, it will also display live video of your home, so you can see what's happening in real time.

Here's how to enable the feature. Note that Sound Recognition on HomePods requires Apple's updated Home app architecture that was introduced in 2022 as part of iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4.

1. In the Home app, tap the ellipsis button (three dots) in the top-right corner of the screen.
2. Tap Home Settings.
   
   

3. Tap Safety & Security ➝ Sound Recognition.
4. Under "Sounds," make sure the Smoke & CO Alarm toggle is in the green ON position.
5. Toggle on the switches next to the HomePod devices that you want to enable Sound Recognition for.
   

That's all there is to it. Note that you can also access the Sound Recognition menu via the Home app's menu cards for individual HomePods.

Sound Recognition was first introduced on the iPhone in 2020 and can detect a wide variety of sounds on that device, including a doorbell, running water, a baby crying, a car horn, a door knock, a cat meowing or dog barking, and more.

Apple today announced four new games coming to Apple Arcade in March, along with three major updates to existing titles on the service.

The four new games heading to ‌Apple Arcade‌ next month are as follows:

• Oceanhorn 3: Legend of the Shadow Sea: A new 3D action-adventure RPG set nearly 1,000 years after Oceanhorn 2, featuring island exploration, titan battles, puzzles, and cross-platform play on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Vision Pro.
• Pocket Love!+: A wholesome life simulator where players decorate a home and build a cozy life with their partner and pet.
• Flow Free+: A puzzle game centered on connecting matching colors with pipes to complete increasingly complex grids.
• Doraemon Dorayaki Shop Story+: A shop management game starring manga character Doraemon where players run and grow a sweetshop.

All of the new games will be available on March 5, 2026. Three games are also set to receive updates this month:

• Disney SpellStruck: A Star Wars crossover arriving February 19 adds levels inspired by Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope and introduces Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, and Chewbacca as playable characters.
• Crayola Create and Play+: A limited-time Snowy Day event featuring Paddington is available on ‌Apple Arcade‌ until February 18.
• NFL Retro Bowl 26: A new challenge lets players relive Super Bowl LX by competing as the Seattle Seahawks or New England Patriots and comparing leaderboard scores with friends.

‌Apple Arcade‌ is a subscription service that provides access to hundreds of games across the ‌iPhone‌, ‌iPad‌, Mac, ‌Apple TV‌, and ‌Apple Vision Pro‌. All of the games are free of ads and in-app purchases. In the U.S., ‌Apple Arcade‌ costs $6.99 per month, and it is also bundled with other Apple services in all Apple One plans. ‌Apple Arcade‌ can be accessed through the App Store and the Apple Games app.

Electric automaker Rivian is preparing to launch a dedicated Apple Watch app that will allow owners to access and control their vehicles directly from their wrist.

Rivian is planning to release a companion Apple Watch app as part of its upcoming 2026.03 software update, according to release notes posted by RivianTrackr. The update is tied to version 3.9 of the Rivian mobile app, which has not yet been released on the App Store.

The release notes say that the update will allow owners to remotely access and control their vehicles from the Apple Watch, including locking and unlocking doors, venting windows, and sounding the alarm. Users can use the Digital Crown to set a target state of charge or adjust the cabin temperature. The app's customizable design allows users to choose up to four quick controls for instant access to their most-used features.

The addition of the Apple Watch app effectively extends wrist-based vehicle access to older Rivian vehicles that cannot use Apple's built-in Wallet-based digital key independently. Rivian began supporting Apple Wallet-based digital Car Keys in December, allowing owners of newer vehicles to use iPhone or Apple Watch to unlock and start their vehicles without a physical key, but support is limited to second-generation Rivian models beginning with the 2025 model year.

Rivian's first-generation vehicles, produced from 2021 to 2024, will gain Apple Watch digital key functionality through the new app for the first time. The app will need to be open for functionality to work on these older vehicles. For those newer vehicles, the digital key can function without requiring the Apple Watch app to be launched via a Car Key in the wallet.

Amazon this week is taking $30 off the Apple Watch SE 3, starting at $219.00 for the 40mm GPS model. These are second-best prices on the SE 3, but it's been over a month since we last tracked record low prices, so this is a good opportunity for anyone who's been waiting for a deal.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

You can also get the 44mm GPS Apple Watch SE 3 on sale for $249.00, down from $279.00. Both the 40mm and 44mm GPS models are available in Midnight and Starlight Aluminum at these prices.

In addition to the Apple Watch SE 3 discounts, Amazon has $100 off the Apple Watch Series 11 right now, which are record low prices on the wearables. If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.

It has been a slow start to 2026 for Apple product launches, with only a new AirTag and a special Apple Watch band released so far. We are still waiting for MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, the iPhone 17e, a lower-cost MacBook with an iPhone chip, long-rumored updates to the Apple TV and HomePod mini, and much more.

Apple is expected to release/update the following products in the first half of 2026:

• iPhone 17e: A spec-bumped successor to the iPhone 16e, with rumored upgrades including an A19 chip, MagSafe, and Apple's C1X and N1 wireless chips. The device will apparently have a notch despite earlier rumors mentioning a Dynamic Island, and pricing will continue to start at $599 in the United States.
• iPad Air: M3 chip → M4 chip.
• iPad: A16 chip → A18 chip or A19 chip.
• MacBook Pro: M4 Pro and M4 Max chips → M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, and PCIe 5.0 support for faster SSD speeds.
• MacBook Air: M4 chip → M5 chip.
• Lower-Cost MacBook: A18 Pro chip, 12.9-inch display, and fun color options.
• Mac Studio: M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips → M5 Max and M5 Ultra chips.
• Studio Display: 27-inch screen with mini-LED backlighting, up to 90Hz or 120Hz refresh rate, HDR support, and either an A19 chip or A19 Pro chip.
• Home Hub: An all-new smart home hub featuring the more personalized version of Siri, a 6-inch to 7-inch square display, an A18 chip for Apple Intelligence, FaceTime, and more. Place it on a table or mount it on a wall.
• Security Camera: Apple-designed, HomeKit-enabled security camera accessory to be sold alongside the new smart home hub.

Both the Apple TV and the HomePod mini were rumored to be updated in 2025, but neither were, so hopefully they will finally arrive in the first half of 2026.

Here is what is rumored for those devices:

• Apple TV: A17 Pro chip with support for the more personalized Siri, and Apple's N1 chip with Wi-Fi 7 support. A built-in FaceTime camera has been rumored for a future Apple TV, but it is unclear if that will arrive with the next model.
• HomePod mini: S9 chip or newer with support for the more personalized Siri, Apple's N1 chip with Wi-Fi 7 support, improved sound quality, a second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, and potentially a new red color option.

Some of the products listed above should be unveiled fairly soon. Apple reportedly plans to unveil the iPhone 17e next week, and MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips will reportedly follow as early as the first week of March.

In 2022, Apple introduced a new Apple Home architecture that is "more reliable and efficient," and the deadline to upgrade and avoid issues is today.

In an email last week, Apple gave customers a final reminder to upgrade their Home app by February 10, 2026. Apple says users who do not upgrade may experience issues with accessories and automations, or lose access to their smart home in the app entirely. In addition, users who do not upgrade will miss out on newer features like robot vacuum cleaner support, and they will not receive important security fixes and performance improvements.

Apple explains how to upgrade the Home app on the iPhone, iPad, or Mac:

• Open the Home app
• Tap or click on the three dots in the upper-right and navigate to Home Settings
• Tap or click on Software Update
• Tap or click Update Now, then follow the prompts. All of the homes that you own are updated at the same time.

If you see "This home and all accessories are up to date," then you are on the current version of the app and no further action is required.

Notably, the new version of Apple Home requires a minimum of iOS 16.2, iPadOS 16.2, macOS 13.1, tvOS 16.2, and watchOS 9.2.

DuckDuckGo has announced new voice chat capabilities for Duck.ai, the private AI chatbot platform it launched last March.

The new feature lets users have real-time voice conversations with large language models (LLMs) through an encrypted relay connection. OpenAI provides the LLMs that power voice chats, but DuckDuckGo says that neither it nor OpenAI stores any audio after conversations end.

"Voice chats in Duck.ai are private, anonymized by us, and never used to train the underlying AI," the company said in its announcement. OpenAI is also contractually limited in how it can use voice chat data. Here's how DuckDuckGo describes the service:

DuckDuckGo protects your audio stream and voice data in several ways, to ensure it can only be accessed by OpenAI, (the model provider for voice chats) and only for the purpose of responding to your prompts:

• Ephemeral processing: Your live audio is streamed only while you're speaking. Once the session ends, neither DuckDuckGo nor OpenAI keeps recordings of your voice.
• No training: Your audio and the model's responses are not used to train AI models.
• Secure connection: Audio streams are encrypted in transit through WebRTC and our relay server.
• Zero data retention: Neither DuckDuckGo nor OpenAI retains any conversation data after you end a voice chat.

The feature works in most browsers except for Firefox, for which support is still in the works, according to the company. Voice chat is free within daily limits and doesn't require an account, while subscribers ($10/month) get higher daily limits in addition to DuckDuckGo VPN access, Personal Information Removal, and Identity Theft Restoration.

Users can disable voice chat at any time through Duck.ai's settings if they change their mind about using the feature. Duck.ai also offers access to non-voice models from OpenAI, Meta, Anthropic, and Mistral.

Apple and Google have agreed to a series of changes aimed at making their app stores fairer for developers, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced today.

The concrete commitments come after the CMA found the two companies had a duopoly and designated them as having "strategic market status" in mobile platforms last October. The designation is not a finding of wrongdoing, but gives UK regulators new powers to demand specific changes to boost competition in the mobile market.

Under the agreed terms published by the CMA, both companies will ensure apps are reviewed and ranked on their app stores in a "fair, objective and transparent way," without discrimination against apps that compete with their own services. They also commit to safeguarding developer data collected during the app review process.

There are also requirements of Apple around the issue of interoperability. Apple must allow developers to more easily request access to iOS features and functionality, which could clear the way for third-party apps to better compete with Apple's own services.

"The commitments announced today allow Apple to continue advancing important privacy and security innovations for users and great opportunities for developers," Apple said in a statement given to Bloomberg.

The changes are set to take effect on April 1, pending a public consultation period that runs through March 3.

The CMA says it will closely monitor implementation and won't hesitate to impose formal requirements if the companies fail to follow through. Further measures are expected in the coming months that could include potential changes to how Apple's digital Wallet app operates.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

OpenAI's first Jony Ive-designed hardware device won't ship to customers until next year, new court filings show (via Wired).

The motion stems from a trademark infringement lawsuit filed last year by audio device startup iyO. The company sued OpenAI after the latter acquired io, a startup founded by Apple's former design chief.

OpenAI's original stated goal was to ship the ChatGPT-powered device before the end of 2026. But in the latest filing, the company said its first hardware device won't ship to customers before the end of February 2027. OpenAI has not created any packaging or marketing materials for its first hardware device either, according to the documents.

The filing also said that OpenAI had reviewed its product-naming strategy and "decided not to use the name 'io' (or 'IYO,' or any capitalization of either) in connection with the naming, advertising, marketing, or sale of any artificial intelligence-enabled hardware products."

Few details are known about the first AI consumer product that OpenAI is working on. The gadget – pitched as a "third core device" that would sit in your pocket, or on your desk alongside a MacBook Pro and iPhone – apparently won't be an in-ear device or a wearable, based on previous filings related to this lawsuit.

Previous leaks have revealed that the gadget will be pocket-sized, contextually aware of your surroundings and life, and completely screen-free. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman apparently told OpenAI staff it's "the coolest piece of technology that the world will have ever seen" after testing Ive's prototype at home.

The development comes as now-debunked rumors circulated on Reddit over the weekend claiming that OpenAI had pulled a Super Bowl ad unveiling its upcoming device. The now-deleted post shared an alleged ad featuring actor Alexander Skarsgård in silver headphones, tapping a reflective puck. The video was widely circulated on social media, including by Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian.