NextFin news, OpenAI has taken significant steps into consumer hardware by recruiting former Apple designers and partnering with major Apple suppliers to develop a new AI hardware device, according to reports published on Friday, September 19, 2025.
The initiative involves Jony Ive, the former Apple design chief, whose hardware startup was acquired by OpenAI earlier this year in a $6.5 billion all-stock deal. Ive's influence is expected to shape the design and user experience of the upcoming AI device.
OpenAI has signed a deal with Luxshare, a key Apple assembler known for producing iPhones, AirPods, and Apple Watches, to bring the prototype device closer to production. The device is described as pocket-sized, context-aware, and designed to work natively with OpenAI's advanced AI models.
In addition to Luxshare, OpenAI has engaged with Goertek, another Apple supplier, to provide speaker modules, suggesting a focus on high-quality audio interaction, potentially without a traditional screen interface.
On the talent front, OpenAI has recruited more than two dozen former Apple engineers, including Tang Tan, a former Apple product design head who now leads hardware at OpenAI. Tan has reportedly emphasized to new recruits the company's culture of "less bureaucracy and more collaboration."
This hardware push marks OpenAI's strategic move beyond software-only AI products, aiming to create an "AI-native" device built from the ground up rather than adding AI features to existing smartphones or PCs.
The collaboration with Apple’s supply chain and design talent positions OpenAI to potentially challenge established tech giants like Apple, Samsung, and Google in the emerging AI hardware market.
Neither OpenAI nor its partners have publicly disclosed the device's release timeline or detailed specifications as of this report.
Sources for this report include Windows Report (September 19, 2025), Techeconomy.ng (September 19, 2025), and corroborating information from Reuters and The Verge.
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