Besides the speaker-like device, OpenAI is also exploring the creation of products such as glasses, a digital voice recorder, and a wearable pin, insiders reveal to The Information. The aim is to release the initial set of products by late 2026 or early 2027.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had mentioned in May the vision of a “family of devices” emerging from the collaboration with Ive, with the leading product being portable, context-aware, and lacking a screen. This new information aligns with those prior declarations, although it is the first disclosure concerning additional devices.

Altman previously stated that the debut AI product wouldn’t be eyewear, though current rumors indicate smart glasses might succeed the first launch. An AI pin would be unexpected, considering Ive’s disinterest in body-wearable gadgets and his criticism of the Humane AI Pin. Earlier reports also hinted at the development of an in-ear device, which is not mentioned in the rumored lineup.

The sources of The Information report that OpenAI is beginning to leverage Apple’s supply network in China for device production. Luxshare, assembling iPhones and AirPods, and Goertek, assembling AirPods, HomePods, and Apple Watches, are believed to be key players in this supply chain. Apple reportedly canceled a meeting with its manufacturing teams in China recently, fearing it would divert executive attention from retaining top talent amid concerns over defections to OpenAI, according to one anonymous source.

The collaboration with Ive’s IO startup has seen an increasing number of Apple hardware employees migrate to OpenAI. Tang Tan, OpenAI’s head of hardware and former Apple product designer, has reassured those recruited from Apple that they will face “less bureaucracy and more collaboration at OpenAI,” as informed by someone familiar with Tang’s recruitment efforts, The Information reports.