Not a Keyboard — a Speaker
Bloomberg revealed on July 15 that OpenAI's long-awaited first consumer hardware device is a screenless, movable smart speaker.
The Codex Micro that went on sale July 15 is a coding macro keyboard built with Work Louder — a peripheral partnership. This newly revealed device is the one OpenAI is building from scratch.
The Pitch: an AI Companion
The device is positioned as a "human-like AI companion." It controls smart home devices, plays media, answers questions, handles messages, and taps into the full ChatGPT capability stack.
What separates it from a regular smart speaker? It has built-in mechanical parts that produce autonomous motion, creating a sense of "aliveness."
It also packs a camera and sensors to understand your surroundings and context. Battery-powered, so you can carry it from the laundry room to the kitchen to the bedroom.
Powered by GPT-Live
Voice interaction runs on an upgraded version of GPT-Live, the full-duplex speech model released this month — it listens and speaks simultaneously, adapting to conversational rhythm.
OpenAI's vision: the device anticipates your needs, gradually becoming a personal "expert advisor" that learns the more you use it.
A $6.5 Billion Bet on Jony Ive
Behind this device is the roughly $6.5 billion acquisition of Jony Ive's company, io. OpenAI has also explored pendant-style wearables and shown interest in home robots.
But building hardware is nothing like shipping models. OpenAI is a rookie on this road.
Apple's 41-Page Lawsuit Is the Big Wildcard
On July 10, Apple filed a 41-page complaint in the Northern District of California, suing OpenAI, the acquired io company, and two former Apple engineers.
The charges are heavy: more than 400 former Apple employees migrated to OpenAI en masse, interviews were allegedly used as intelligence-gathering sessions, and a proprietary metal surface treatment process is at issue.
OpenAI's nascent hardware business is rotten at its foundation because it unlawfully relies on misappropriated trade secrets.
Apple wants OpenAI barred from using the secrets, ordered to destroy materials, and forced to redesign products. If the court grants an injunction, the device may never ship.
Racing the Clock Against IPO and Court
OpenAI plans to unveil the product this year and launch it in 2027. Apple's lawsuit could derail that timeline.
OpenAI's response was measured: the company says it has no interest in others' trade secrets and found no evidence the suit has merit. It argues the device is unlike anything Apple currently sells.
But no one can predict how litigation unfolds. OpenAI's hardware dream is caught between an IPO window and a courtroom verdict.