OpenAI has signed a deal with Apple’s long-time assembler Luxshare to build a pocket-sized AI-powered gadget, according to people familiar with the matter.
The project is still in its early stages, but insiders say the device is designed to be compact, context-aware, and powered directly by OpenAI’s advanced language models.
With this, OpenAI is stepping away from software-only products into the competitive consumer hardware market. Unlike smartphones or computers that add AI as a feature, the goal here is to create an “AI-native” product, a device built from the ground up to work seamlessly with artificial intelligence.
OpenAI’s focus on hardware began earlier this year when it acquired io Products, a startup founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive, in a deal valued at $6.5 billion.
Ive’s influence is expected to enhance the product’s minimalist design, intuitive controls, and seamless integration with AI systems. More than two dozen former Apple engineers, many from teams behind the Apple Watch and AirPods, are also involved in the project.
Luxshare, which currently assembles iPhones, AirPods and Apple Watches, brings large-scale production and supply chain expertise to the table. OpenAI has also held talks with Goertek, another Apple partner, to supply speaker modules and related components.
Such collaboration suggests the device may rely heavily on high-quality audio interaction, possibly without a screen.
Analysts argue that this strategy could challenge the place of established companies like Apple, Samsung, and Google. A dedicated AI device could change user habits away from app-based digital assistants on phones, opening the door to entirely new categories of personal technology.
Comparable projects are already in motion elsewhere: Humane’s AI Pin, Rabbit’s pocket-sized R1, and Meta’s AI-powered Ray-Ban glasses are all chasing the same vision — frictionless, ambient computing experiences.
But OpenAI’s integration of its own models, paired with manufacturing giants like Luxshare, could give it an edge in reaching the mass market.
For now, neither OpenAI nor Luxshare has issued public statements about the device or its release timeline.
