A camera-equipped AI speaker that watches your home and recognizes faces for payments will reportedly launch in early 2027, marking the ChatGPT maker's first major push into consumer devices.
More than 200 employees are now developing a family of AI-powered devices starting with the $200-$300 speaker. The device would include facial recognition similar to Apple's Face ID for purchase authentication and could identify objects on nearby tables or conversations happening in its vicinity.
The company's hardware ambitions follow last year's $6.5 billion acquisition of former Apple design chief Jony Ive's startup io Products. Ive's design firm LoveFrom handles product aesthetics while OpenAI manages engineering and software development internally.
The camera-enabled speaker represents a departure from current voice-only assistants like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. By adding visual context awareness, it could theoretically automate grocery ordering when it sees pantry items running low or offer bedtime reminders based on calendar events.
AI glasses are also in development but won't reach mass production until 2028 at the earliest. Prototypes exist for a connected lamp as well, though its commercial release remains uncertain.
The company enters a crowded market where Meta already sells Ray-Ban glasses with AI features and Apple is reportedly developing its own AI wearable pin alongside camera-equipped AirPods. Google continues work on Android XR-powered eyewear as well.
The devices division formed nine months ago following the io Products acquisition. Peter Welinder, an OpenAI vice president and general manager, leads the group which includes several Apple veterans: Tang Tan as chief hardware officer, Evans Hankey handling industrial design, and Scott Cannon managing supply chain.
"formed with the mission of figuring out how to create a family of devices that would let people use AI to create all sorts of wonderful things."
CEO Sam Altman described the merger with Ive's startup with that mission.
Privacy concerns loom over any always-listening, always-watching device in homes. The speaker would join existing home products from Amazon, Apple and Google that have faced scrutiny over data collection practices despite their convenience benefits.
If development stays on schedule without technical delays reported earlier this year, consumers could see OpenAI's first hardware product by February 2027.
