OpenAI is "on track" to unveil its first device in the second half of 2026, according to Chris Lehane, the company's global affairs director, in an interview with Axios.
In May 2025, OpenAI announced its acquisition of a startup founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive, which focuses on creating AI devices. At the same time, Sam Altman provided employees with a preview of the gadget he is developing with Ive, sharing plans to produce 100 million "AI companions" that will integrate into people's daily lives.
The new product will be fully aware of its surroundings and the user's life. It is designed to be unobtrusive, able to rest in a pocket or on a table, and is expected to become the "third main device after the MacBook Pro and iPhone."
This will not be a phone, glasses, or anything wearable—Ive and Altman aim to help people move away from screens. It represents a "new design movement."
OpenAI's CEO emphasized that a whole "line of devices" is planned, comparing the concept to Apple's ecosystem.
Lehane described the device as one of the company's major innovations for 2026, though it remains unclear if it will be available for sale this year.
In January, an insider known as Smart Pikachu revealed that OpenAI plans to release a "replacement" for AirPods.
Hearing fresh detail on OpenAI's "To-go" hardware project from last report. Now confirmed it is a special audio product to replace AirPods, internal code name is "Sweetpea".
— 智慧皮卡丘 Smart Pikachu (Weibo) (@zhihuipikachu) January 12, 2026
On manufacturing, Foxconn has been told to prepare for a total of 5 devices by Q4 2028. All not known but a home… https://t.co/svOCBuyapI pic.twitter.com/SFumFfRIeF
The internal code name is Sweetpea. The case will be egg-shaped with two "capsules" that fit behind the ear. The main processor will be a smartphone chip. While the cost of materials and components will be high, the gadget is expected to be powerful.
According to the blogger, the presentation is scheduled for September 2026, with projected sales of 40-50 million units in the first year.
Foxconn is expected to "prepare for the release of five devices" by Q4 2028, Smart Pikachu added.
In October 2025, FT reported that OpenAI is working on a palm-sized device without a screen that "receives audio and visual signals and responds to user requests." This may refer to a "smart" speaker.
Other Plans for 2026
OpenAI's CFO Sarah Friar shared in a blog post that 2026 will be a period of "practical implementation."
"The priority is to bridge the gap between what is currently possible with artificial intelligence and how people, companies, and countries use it in everyday life," she stated.
The opportunities are vast and already available, especially in healthcare, science, and entrepreneurship, Friar added.
The executive outlined OpenAI's strategy for monetizing services while ensuring computational power. She noted that the lab's revenue directly depends on the availability of technical infrastructure.
OpenAI's computational power has grown from 0.2 GW in 2023 to 1.9 GW in 2025. During the same period, annual revenue increased from $2 billion to over $20 billion.
"This is unprecedented growth. We firmly believe that greater computational power would lead to faster adoption and monetization," Friar emphasized.
The tech industry and OpenAI are under scrutiny due to the massive investments flowing into data centers and their energy supply. Skeptics argue that a bubble is forming, as despite high revenue, Altman's startup remains unprofitable.
"Providing computational power requires commitments made years in advance, and growth does not occur in a perfectly linear fashion," Friar added.
She stated that OpenAI's business model must scale alongside its products.
On Scaling
On January 16, OpenAI announced that it will begin testing ads in the free tier of ChatGPT and the low-cost Go in the coming weeks.
In the coming weeks, we plan to start testing ads in ChatGPT free and Go tiers.
— OpenAI (@OpenAI) January 16, 2026
We’re sharing our principles early on how we’ll approach ads—guided by putting user trust and transparency first as we work to make AI accessible to everyone.
What matters most:
— Responses in… pic.twitter.com/3UQJsdriYR
The company assured that:
- responses will not be influenced by commercial content;
- ads will always be clearly marked and separate;
- conversations will not be accessible to advertisers.
Ads will not appear in the Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise plans.
Altman noted that he will strive to ensure that paid messages are useful.
It’s worth mentioning that in January, billionaire Elon Musk sought to claim $134 billion in "unlawful profits" from OpenAI and Microsoft, which the AI startup earned thanks to his early support.