OpenAI Plans to ‘Replace Smartphones’ With New AI Device 

OpenAI, the AI giant, is reportedly planning to build a new AI-focused hardware device. According to reports from Nikkei Asia, the device will “replace smartphones.” 

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, also revealed to the media outlet that the company is planning to build the device in partnership with former Apple chief design officer Jony Ive. 

Last year, it was also reported that the partnership between OpenAI and Ive had been in the works to create a device that uses generative AI to handle complex user interactions more efficiently than traditional software.

A New York Times report last year revealed that the device is touted to be less socially disruptive than the iPhone.

“We’ve been discussing ideas,” said Altman in a podcast episode in May 2024, hinting at the partnership and the possibility of running LLMs on smartphones and if it is going to be affordable when that happens. 

However, Altman also said that a cheaper device isn’t a solution. “Almost everyone’s willing to pay for a phone anyway,” said Altman.

“Even if a cheaper device could be made, I think the barrier to carrying or using a second device is pretty high,” he added. 

Altman has previously expressed his intent to build similar technology. A few years ago, he invested in a startup called Humane Inc., which aimed to create hardware products for the generative AI. Altman invested $30 million in Series A funding for Humane, which was founded by former Apple employees Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno.

That said, the Humane AI Pin and another AI-focused hardware device, the Rabbit R1, were not well received. As per reviews, both devices were affected by numerous bugs and provided a poor user experience. For example, Engadget called the Rabbit R1 “A $199 AI toy that fails at almost everything.”

Most big tech companies currently focus on integrating AI features on existing smartphones rather than building new devices themselves. Over the last few years, Google has focused on adding generative AI capabilities to the Pixel smartphone lineup and making a few features available locally. 

Similarly, OpenAI also partnered with Apple to integrate ChatGPT with the iPhone, using Apple Intelligence. 

In other news, OpenAI announced the release of OpenAI o3-mini, a new AI model built to deliver cost-effective reasoning with improved efficiency and STEM capabilities. The model is available in ChatGPT and the API and replaces OpenAI o1-mini in the model selection.