Everyone knows OpenAI burns through cash fast. In a guest essay for The New York Times, Sebastian Mallaby even says the company behind ChatGPT could run out of money within 18 months. Still, Sam Altman has a plan in motion.
OpenAI teams up with former Apple designer Jony Ive on a wave of AI hardware, and the first device could take the form of a smart speaker. Here’s what the leaks say so far about the OpenAI smart speaker.
Related: OpenAI’s mysterious device: What are Sam Altman and Jony Ive building?
The Information says that OpenAI may launch the speaker in February 2027 at the earliest. Expect a price between $200 and $300. For comparison, JBL sells the Authentics 200 for $199.95 with a 47% discount, while the Sonos Era 100 costs $209.99.
The same report claims AI glasses sit next in line, though mass production may not start until 2028. An AI smart lamp also sits on the roadmap. As for the rumored smart earbuds, no fresh details have surfaced.
The speaker may include a camera that lets users shop by scanning their face, mirroring Face ID. Apple’s facial recognition technology uses an infrared projector to cast dots across your face. An infrared camera reads those dots and maps them in 3D space. If you hold the sensor toward two objects at different distances, the system can tell which one sits closer and which one sits farther away.
I want to know if OpenAI’s speaker will just handle sign-in or if it will process full purchases. Retail software can already track gender, race, age range, gaze direction, time spent near displays, and facial expression. Stores can match that data with purchase history and visit frequency. Still, the idea that a face scan or gesture could complete a payment feels new to me.
Can the smart speaker spark enough hype to keep OpenAI afloat? That question hinges on whether people want a camera that scans their face inside the living room?
I don’t stress too much about data collection, but I draw a line. If a company builds a simple profile around my interests, I can live with that. I also accept some data sharing for revenue, as long as I trust the company or service. Beyond that, I push back.
Apple holds a stronger privacy reputation than OpenAI in my view. ChatGPT now shows ads to users on the free tier and the $8-per-month Go tier. Apple takes a different route. The company charges upfront for most products and leans hard into privacy in its marketing. And look at Amazon Echo devices, where video ads take over the screen and resist attempts to mute them, unlike the “by the way” audio prompts you can shut down after you tell Alexa to stop.
Even so, I can’t ignore the pull of OpenAI hardware on the horizon. Think about the model quality, the UX, the tone, the aesthetic. Everything clicks for me. The whole experience feels intentional, clean, and powerful without overload. ChatGPT carries a vibe other tools miss. It feels smart and well crafted. So yes, my expectations sit high.
Grigor Baklajyan is a copywriter covering technology at Gadget Flow. His contributions include product reviews, buying guides, how-to articles, and more.