OpenAI is building a smartphone that could kill the app as we know it. Supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo revealed that the company is developing a device built entirely around AI agents, shifting from individual apps to a continuous, context-aware interface that handles tasks directly. The phone marks a reversal of OpenAI's publicly stated hardware strategy. Until now. The company had consistently said it was not making a phone, instead focusing on non-phone devices developed with former Apple design chief Jony Ive, whose startup io Products was acquired by OpenAI for $6.5 billion. That lineup includes a smart speaker (expected as the first product), smart glasses, a smart lamp, and potentially earbuds.
Kuo's supply chain checks show OpenAI working with MediaTek and Qualcomm on smartphone processors, with Luxshare Precision Industry as the exclusive manufacturing partner. Mass production is scheduled for 2028, with final chip specifications and additional suppliers expected by late 2026 or early Q1 2027. The device concept replaces a traditional homescreen with a panel of ongoing agentic tasks like booking flights or compiling market data. Kuo argues this is how AI agents will "redefine" the smartphone.
"Users are not trying to use a pile of apps," Kuo wrote. "They are trying to get tasks done and fulfill needs through the phone." The smartphone remains uniquely positioned for AI agent use because it captures a user's full real-time state including location, activity, communication, and context -- what Kuo describes as the most important input for real-time AI agent inference. He argues that only by fully controlling both the operating system and hardware can OpenAI deliver a AI agent service.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman posted on X the same day Kuo published his analysis: "feels like a good time to seriously rethink how operating systems and user interfaces are designed."
OpenAI Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane has said the first hardware announcement is expected in the second half of 2026, with launch around early 2027. That first device is likely the ChatGPT-infused smart speaker with built-in camera.
