OpenAI has built its reputation on software. Its first piece of hardware, according to a new Bloomberg report, is something else entirely: a doughnut-shaped, screenless smart speaker roughly the size of a hockey puck.

The battery-powered device, expected to launch in 2027 and priced above $300, is co-designed with Jony Ive's LoveFrom studio — the design firm of the former Apple design chief who joined forces with OpenAI's Sam Altman in 2024. Bloomberg reports the device features moving parts that activate to convey personality during interactions, along with lights, a camera system, microphones and sensors.

The product is OpenAI's bet that the AI assistant of the future doesn't live on a phone screen. Positioned as a more ambient, expressive take on the smart speaker — distinct from Amazon's Alexa or Apple's HomePod — it would deliver ChatGPT's voice capabilities through a device designed to feel alive.

Hardware is unforgiving territory: supply chains, manufacturing and returns are a world away from model releases. But the report fits a broader pattern — OpenAI has been hiring hardware talent and exploring devices for years, and Ive's involvement signals an intent to make the object itself a differentiator. Whether a $300+ speaker can become a mainstream AI gateway remains an open question, but for now, the hockey puck is the clearest picture yet of what OpenAI thinks the future of the assistant looks like.

Sources