OpenAI and Jony Ive's mysterious AI device will probably suck (but it'll look cool)

Summary

Altman and Ive are collaborating on an AI device that will enter mass production by 2027.
The device isn’t a smartphone, glasses, or a traditional wearable.
Hardware-based AI has yet to click with consumers (just like current AI platforms).

The AI-powered Humane Pin is the definition of a bust and Rabbit’s R1 didn’t make the splash the company hoped it would. It’s almost like dedicated AI hardware devices don’t make sense, right? This is at least in part because AI itself isn’t entirely as useful as tech giants aim for it to be (at least not yet).

That hasn’t stopped OpenAI’s Sam Altman from acquiring Jony Ive’s io AI startup for $6.5 billion, though — complete with cute images of the pair embracing each other in the announcement. Now that the dust has settled, as is often the case with the tech industry, the rumor mill has kicked into high gear regarding what io could be working on.

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What are Altman and Ive cooking up?

So far, the gadget sounds strikingly familiar…

According to Ming-Chi Kuo (via 9to5Mac), a notable Apple leaker and analyst, mass production of whatever this device is won’t start until 2027, with assembly and shipping being handled outside of China to avoid potential geopolitical pitfalls. Thanks to The Wall Street Journal, we also know that OpenAI and Ive plan to ship a hefty 100 million units of whatever this AI-powered device is. This same report also confirmed that contrary to what some expected, the mysterious AI hardware isn’t a smartphone or smart glasses.

So far, nothing has become that killer feature that hooks consumers, and it’s unlikely a slickly designed gadget from Ive will change that.

So what is it then? According to Kuo, it’s as “compact and elegant as an iPod Shuffle” and slightly bigger than Humane’s ill-fated AI Pin. Kuo goes on to say that the device will be worn around the user’s neck. This sounds a lot like a necklace-take on the Humane Pin or the Rabbit R1, two AI gadgets Jony Ive recently threw shade at in a Bloomberg interview where he called them “bad products.” Ive is clearly confident in whatever io is working on, though it’s unclear what sort of capabilities it will offer.

I love wacky gadgets as much as anyone, but I don’t see this working — even with Ive’s design prowess at the helm. Tech giants like Apple, Google, and Microsoft are still throwing anything and everything at the wall when it comes to AI. Still, so far, nothing has turned out to be that killer feature that hooks consumers, and it’s unlikely a slickly designed gadget from Ive will change that if it isn’t far more capable than the Humane Pin on both the hardware and software side — especially when we all still have smartphones in our pockets.