A highly anticipated new device from OpenAI will have a unique look, complete with moving parts that help give it personality, and likely cost more than $300, according to people familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n
The product \u2014 essentially a smart speaker without a display \u2014 will be shaped like a doughnut that\u2019s roughly the size of a hockey puck, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the work is confidential. The idea is to make the device easy to carry around the home with one hand.<\/p>\n
OpenAI is looking to break new ground with the product, which is slated for release in 2027. The device will be positioned as an AI-first computer that can help users get things done, the people said. And the design should help it stand out from current smart speakers, a category dominated by Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc.\u2019s Google.<\/p>\n
The new hardware will also give OpenAI a chance to show that it\u2019s not cribbing from Apple Inc.\u2019s designs. The two companies are locked in a legal battle over whether the AI firm stole Apple\u2019s intellectual property, something OpenAI denies. <\/p>\n
A representative for San Francisco-based OpenAI declined to comment on its product plans.<\/p>\n
Though OpenAI eventually plans to offer a family of devices, the smart speaker is seen as a way to ease into the market. Other types of always-on AI gadgets, such as smart glasses, have raised concerns about privacy.<\/p>\n
OpenAI expects users to rely on the smart speaker throughout the day. It will work similarly to the company\u2019s ChatGPT voice mode on smartphone apps, but with more advanced models for humanlike interactivity. The device is designed to learn more about a user over time, letting it tailor conversations and act more like a real person. <\/p>\n
The circle-shaped device will include parts that move on their own, according to the people. That will help show when it\u2019s responding and interacting with the user. The goal is to make the object feel more alive than today\u2019s stationary speaker products. <\/p>\n
The product will have speaker grills and microphones for fielding commands and conversing with users. The battery-powered item will be designed to work in different positions \u2014 in a user\u2019s hand, say, or placed on a nightstand or kitchen counter.<\/p>\n
OpenAI is also planning to include lights on the device to demonstrate when it\u2019s listening and make interactions feel more personal. A camera system and other sensors, meanwhile, will perceive the surrounding environment and feed visual information into the AI. Bloomberg News first reported some early details about the device last month.<\/p>\n
Over the longer run, OpenAI aims to build a device business and \u2014 someday \u2014 offer something that could replace today\u2019s smartphones.<\/p>\n
The speaker product was designed in collaboration with Jony Ive\u2019s LoveFrom studio. Ive, who also co-founded a device startup that OpenAI acquired last year, made his name devising the look and feel of the iPhone, iPad, iPod and Apple Watch.<\/p>\n
Like Ive\u2019s previous offerings, the new device will have a premium look and use upscale materials like high-quality metal. OpenAI has discussed pricing of $300 to $400 per unit, which would be more than most smart speakers but less than a standard iPhone. <\/p>\n
A metal design was cited in Apple\u2019s lawsuit against OpenAI. The iPhone maker claimed that OpenAI asked a long-running Apple supplier to develop a metal finishing technique for an upcoming product that\u2019s similar to what it offers. <\/p>\n
\u201cOpenAI and its cohorts misled the partner to believe they had Apple\u2019s permission to have the partner carry out the confidential metal-finishing technique for OpenAI\u2019s benefit,\u201d according to the suit.<\/p>\n
OpenAI described the claim as \u201ctoo vague and generalized.\u201d And it\u2019s unclear if the lawsuit is referring to the doughnut-shaped device, another product or a scrapped concept.<\/p>\n
But the ring-shaped form factor \u2014 or the idea of an easily portable smart speaker \u2014 is not something Apple has come close to launching. Though it sells a HomePod speaker line, it doesn\u2019t have a battery-powered version and hasn\u2019t yet released an AI-centric home device.<\/p>\n
It is, however, working on innovative home products for the future. That includes a smart home hub with a display that attaches to a robotic limb. The approach will allow the device to move around in space, letting it face a person talking to it or show a different view during a FaceTime video chat.<\/p>\n
People with knowledge of the first OpenAI device say the company believes that the product doesn\u2019t use or violate any Apple trade secrets. OpenAI investigated the issue with an internal probe following Apple\u2019s lawsuit filing, they said.<\/p>\n
The company emphasized that point in a motion to dismiss Apple\u2019s lawsuit late Wednesday. <\/p>\n
\u201cOpenAI is building something entirely new and different from anything at Apple,\u201d the filing said.<\/p>\n
Still, Apple\u2019s request this week for an injunction against OpenAI \u2014 if granted \u2014 could complicate the new product\u2019s release. OpenAI has long sought to unveil the device this year and then make it available in 2027.<\/p>\n
Internally, OpenAI continues to push full speed ahead on its device, according to the people.<\/p>\n
OpenAI has sought to characterize Apple\u2019s accusations as \u201ccareless, aggressive and oddly personal.\u201d A lawyer for OpenAI wrote to a member of Apple\u2019s legal representatives to say the suit was \u201cpredicated on a misrepresentation of facts and allegations that are speculative at best.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are attacking ordinary business practices,\u201d the lawyer, Patrick Curran of Quinn Emanuel, wrote to the iPhone maker. \u201cYou are complaining about situations that you have caused, including through your own procedures and decisions.\u201d <\/p>\n
Gurman writes for Bloomberg.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A highly anticipated new device from OpenAI will have a unique look, complete with moving parts that help…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":132926,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[24,6517,342,25,532,1682,4107,3027,9982,157,572,748,39376,66106,66107,18400,760],"class_list":["post-132925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ai","tag-ai","tag-ai-firm","tag-apple-inc","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-company","tag-design","tag-device","tag-iphone","tag-last-year","tag-openai","tag-people","tag-product","tag-smart-speaker","tag-smartphone-app","tag-stationary-speaker-product","tag-today","tag-user"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132925"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132925\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/132926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}