OpenAI is set to unveil its inaugural hardware device. This was stated by the company's global affairs director at the Axios House Davos event. He mentioned that the company is on track to introduce the device in the latter half of 2026.

This aligns with industry forecasts anticipating a commercial launch of the OpenAI hardware product in 2027, but the announcement this year has already sparked interest within the industry.

Meanwhile, Jony Ive's team at OpenAI has welcomed former Apple employee Janum Trivedi, who previously worked on SpringBoard and developed features such as Split View and Multitasking Drag & Drop for iPadOS 15. Trivedi has joined the design team at OpenAI × LoveFrom, focusing on the new hardware products.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and former Apple designer Jony Ive announced a collaboration last May to create a family of hardware products for AI. They recently confirmed that the first prototype is ready and development is ongoing.

Interestingly, earlier this month, The Information reported that OpenAI is enhancing its audio models in preparation for the hardware product, which will primarily focus on audio functionalities.

Thus, 2026 could mark the beginning of OpenAI's journey into its own hardware ecosystem.