OpenAI's Mysterious Hardware Device Finally Has A Launch Timeframe
During an event at the World Economic Forum at Davos, Lehane shared that the company is poised to bring its hardware to market towards the back half of this year. However, he left wiggle room by adding that it’s the “most likely” timeframe, and that it will see “how things advance.” It’s not too surprising to see him hedging as the hardware market is in a constant state of flux lately, due to the DRAM shortage.

Not much is known about the device at this point, but OpenAI will want to avoid the fate that befell the Humane AI pin, which is why it’ll probably be a design users are already familiar with. Rumors hint that it will be a wearable similar to Apple’s AirPods, although it will need to match the sound quality of AirPods or Pixel Buds, while adding useful functionality, if it is to be successful.
Apart from the actual design and form factor, it will be interesting to see how OpenAI decides to handle user queries. Will it pack the device with a powerful enough chip to complete tasks on the device, or will it lean on its APIs and leverage the cloud?
However, the real question is, which Jony Ive is going to show up? Is it the Jony Ive that’s responsible for some of the most beloved designs of the Apple faithful, such as the iMac G4 and the Power Mac G4 Cube? Or is it the Jony Ive that thought the much maligned butterfly keyboard was a good idea? Which of these two Jony’s ends up leading the way will likely play a large role in how successful OpenAI is with its hardware efforts.