OpenAI and Jony Ive Reportedly Developing Camera Smart Speaker
A goal-oriented AI hub with facial recognition aims to turn your home into OpenAI’s testbed for always-on assistance.
Summary
- OpenAI is reportedly developing its first major consumer hardware: a premium smart speaker with an integrated camera and facial recognition
- Designed in collaboration with former Apple design chief Jony Ive, the device targets a $200 to $300 price point and an earliest launch window of early 2027
- The camera-enabled speaker is pitched as a proactive, goal-oriented AI hub that can observe users, authenticate purchases, and compete with offerings from Apple, Amazon, Google, and other big tech players
OpenAI’s first real swing at consumer hardware is shaping up to be a camera-equipped smart speaker that treats your living room like a lab. Reports say the device will use an onboard camera and facial recognition to recognize users, understand what is happening around it, and even authenticate purchases, pushing the smart speaker category into far more intimate territory. Internally, leaders have framed the project as a context-aware, “active participant” in daily life rather than a passive voice assistant, with behavior that nudges you toward your goals based on what it sees and hears.
The hardware is being designed with former Apple design chief Jony Ive and his LoveFrom studio, effectively positioning the product as a kind of AI-era HomePod 2.0 with OpenAI’s models under the hood. Priced in the $200 USD to $300 USD range and targeting an early 2027 debut, the speaker is expected to be the first in a wider family of devices that may include smart glasses and a smart lamp, while OpenAI reportedly dedicates more than 200 employees to its devices push. That strategy signals a shift from pure software toward vertically integrated AI ecosystems, but it also invites heavy scrutiny over privacy, data collection, and whether anyone truly wants an always-listening, always-watching assistant in their home.
