Jony Ive’s first OpenAI gadget is reportedly a hockey puck-sized smart speaker
The AI device OpenAI is developing with former Apple designer Jony Ive is "essentially a smart speaker without a display" that's battery-powered, doughnut-shaped and roughly the size of a hockey puck, according to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman.
The report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman adds a concrete shape to a project that has existed mostly as a rumor since 2023. OpenAI and Jony Ive's design firm are said to be building a battery-powered, doughnut-shaped device roughly the size of a hockey puck, with no display, a camera, sensors, and moving parts that signal when the system is listening or responding. The price is expected to exceed $300, with a launch window around 2027.
What matters here is not the hardware silhouette but the strategic logic behind it. OpenAI is choosing to enter the physical world through a device that deliberately avoids the screen. That is a meaningful decision. Screens are the territory of Apple, Google, and Samsung, and they carry the weight of existing app ecosystems. A screenless device sidesteps that competition and forces the interaction model to be voice-first, which is where OpenAI's current strengths lie.
The moving parts are the more interesting detail. They are not a gimmick; they are a solution to a real problem. Voice assistants have always struggled to communicate their internal state. A light or a chime tells you the device is listening, but it does not tell you whether it is thinking, confused, or waiting. Physical motion gives the device a body language that a screenless interface otherwise lacks. It is a way to make an invisible process feel present.
The $300 price point and the 2027 timeline are also telling. This is not a mass-market play in the near term. It is a premium, design-led product aimed at early adopters who are willing to pay for a more natural interaction with an AI system. The timeline suggests OpenAI is not rushing to beat a competitor to market; it is taking the time to get the hardware and the interaction model right.
For the remote work conversation, the connection is indirect but real. If this device works as described, it could eventually become a fixture in home offices and distributed teams, offering a hands-free way to interact with an AI assistant without the friction of a laptop or a phone. But that is a downstream effect, not the story here. The story is that OpenAI is making a deliberate bet on a new form factor, and the details of that bet are now coming into focus.