We all know that OpenAI is working on some hardware products, and Apple’s former design chief Jony Ive is said to be leading that department. But now there is news floating on the internet saying the AI giant’s ambitious hardware project is facing hurdles. According to the latest report from the Financial Times, Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s vision for a sleek, screenless AI device is facing serious technical and design roadblocks.
The two teamed up earlier this year after OpenAI acquired io, Ive’s design startup, for a massive $6.5 billion. Sam Altman had said the move would help OpenAI “create a new generation of AI-powered computers,” and early reports pointed to a 2026 launch window.
However, things are not going smoothly. The upcoming device, which is said to be small enough to fit in your hand and work without a screen, is meant to read your surroundings via audio and visual input and respond naturally. However, the team is reportedly stuck on key issues, including how the device should behave, how to protect user privacy, and what computing power it will rely on.
Apart from tha, the trickiest problem seems to be its “always-on” design. The device is supposed to listen continuously and chime in when relevant, but engineers haven’t nailed down how to keep it from interrupting unnecessarily or talking for too long.
So while the company is trying to redefine the way people interact with AI, these setbacks indicate that the future is not arriving as fast as OpenAI and Ive hoped. The concept sounds revolutionary, but bringing it to life is proving to be far more complicated than imagined. As we have all seen, what happened with Rabbit R1 also tried to achieve something similar. Yes, the circumstances back then were different, and it’s OpenAI that is enjoying the majority of the market share in AI. But how well people are going to adopt this device is something only time will tell.
