Probably not like the two cover images. No, not a sort of iPhone to wear around your neck, nor a hologram projector like in Star Wars.
Here are some of the hypotheses we found online.
Some Details
Form Factor: Think small. Maybe as big as an iPod Shuffle. Portable, minimalist, and delightfully Ive-ian.
Wearable: One of the intended uses includes wearing it around the neck. Shades of science fiction, Star Trek, or perhaps a Tamagotchi on steroids?
No Screen: It will have cameras and microphones for environmental perception, but no display. The idea is not to add another screen to our lives.
Complementary Device: It will connect to your smartphone or laptop for processing and visual output.
Production Timelines: Mass production is planned for 2027, giving us plenty of time for further leaks, renderings, and conspiracy theories.
Kuo suggested on X that the announcement was timed to distract from Google I/O. OpenAI has positioned this as a new hardware-software narrative, riding the “physical AI” trend.
He also quoted a great phrase from former Apple fellow Alan Kay: “People who are serious about software should make their own hardware.” That’s exactly what Altman and OpenAI are trying to do here.
Clues from Altman and WSJ
Sam Altman
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Kim Hong-Ji/REUTERS
The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Altman gave OpenAI staff a preview of the devices he’s developing with Ive:
- The device was described as an AI “companion.” Altman wants to ship 100 million on day one.
- It will be aware of its environment and can sit in your pocket or on your desk.
- It’s not a phone or smart glasses. Ive is said to not have been enthusiastic about a wearable device, although the final design might still flirt with that concept.
- Altman said the device should be the third important object on your desk, alongside a MacBook and an iPhone.
- There will be a “family of devices,” and Altman even speculated about the idea of mailing subscribers new ChatGPT-powered computers.
- They aim to move away from screen-based interaction and rethink what AI companionship really means in the daily human context.
Renderings, memes and vibes
The brilliant designer Ben Geskin imagined several interesting form factors on X, including this circular disc.
Online comments
No more Mr. Nice Guy: Goodbye to the Submissive ChatGPT
ChatGPT has gotten really too servile lately. Sam Altman says a solution is coming.
io pic.twitter.com/bcpyixWcle
— Ben Geskin (@BenGeskin) May 23, 2025
Geskin’s ideas blend Apple-level minimalism with a futuristic touch, perfectly in line with the Jony Ive brand.
- Some smart glasses, because obviously.
- A pendant, halfway between technology and jewelry.
- Square/rectangular objects with a disturbing elegance.
Which form factor do you think makes the most sense for OpenAI’s first AI device? I’m all for the glasses 👓 https://t.co/1dTUhuJ1uW pic.twitter.com/FG2Rw8WNFn
— Ben Geskin (@BenGeskin) May 21, 2025
Echoing Geskin, another user on X proposed a disc-shaped device, elegant enough to look like a luxury coaster or a futuristic hockey puck. Think of it as a desk-side AI companion, silently listening and gently glowing.
I have the scoop on what Jony Ive is cooking up from OpenAI. 😅 pic.twitter.com/Q3pkRVTg4q
— Basic Apple Guy (@BasicAppleGuy) May 22, 2025
A BI colleague mentioned a ChatGPT smart lamp, perhaps inspired by the “Sopranos” episode where the FBI puts microphones in Tony’s basement. Funny, but not impossible. After all, a lamp fits Altman’s criteria for a desk-friendly device.
The Sopranos Tony Soprano pool
Tony Soprano in the long HBO mob drama “The Sopranos.” Anthony Neste/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images
Another X user joked that the device could resemble those emergency pendants worn by the elderly — “Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” — but with ChatGPT instead of a nurse. A brutal meme, but it raises a valid point: if the device is meant to be always-on, context-aware, and wearable, why not market it to the elderly as well?
Yet, if it’s for old people, should it use Google Gemini instead? Low blow!
The first AI pendant pic.twitter.com/mRZcEmE5My
— @levelsio (@levelsio) May 23, 2025
X user Peter Hu proposed an AI-powered nail clipper. Yes, it’s absurd, and no, it doesn’t make sense. But the design? Subdued, fantastic.
The Open AI nail clippers was a personal request from me
Thank you Jony Ive pic.twitter.com/0QwHlvNof8
— Peter Hu (@VeltIntern) May 23, 2025
Here’s a rendering of a vape pen with a ChatGPT touch. Inhales wisdom, exhales existential angst.
Holy moly, an AI vape.
Jony Ive has hit the mark again. pic.twitter.com/t5kgu7vZHZ
— tweet davidson (@andykreed) May 23, 2025
Some of the more surreal concepts seem straight out of your skull. There’s a “Matrix” or “Severance” vibe here, suggesting a future where ChatGPT lives in your head like a helpful parasite.
The new AI device by Jony Ive and Sam Altman for Open AI pic.twitter.com/eRM0uPyASA
— Gigi B (@GBallarani) May 23, 2025
This one below is cute!
The new revolutionary AI device by Jony Ive. pic.twitter.com/6JsWz8rSvV
— Borriss (@_Borriss_) May 22, 2025
I asked ChatGPT to make a hypothesis. The answer was not impressive. No wonder OpenAI paid $6.5 billion for Ive’s hardware design startup.
