OpenAI's first hardware collaboration with former Apple designer Jony Ive will reportedly be a hockey puck-sized, doughnut-shaped smart speaker without a display, expected to launch in 2027 at a price over $300.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports the device is "essentially a smart speaker without a display." It is battery-powered and roughly the size of a hockey puck. The device will have a unique look, complete with moving parts, according to Gurman's sources. Some of those moving parts will move on their own to indicate when the device is responding or interacting.
The speaker will include lights, a camera system, and other sensors. It is designed to be "easy to carry around the home with one hand," Gurman reports. That portability echoes Amazon's Tap speaker, a similar portable smart speaker that has since been discontinued.
A Voice-First Device for the Home
The device will work similarly to the company's ChatGPT voice mode on smartphone apps, but with more advanced models for humanlike interactivity. That means users could carry the puck from room to room and speak to it naturally, much like they would with a phone-based assistant. The lack of a display pushes interaction entirely toward voice and sound.
OpenAI has not confirmed the device publicly. The report is based on unnamed sources familiar with the project. The company has been working with Ive for years on a hardware effort, and this speaker appears to be the first concrete product to emerge from that partnership.
The device could be the first in a "family of devices" OpenAI has planned. That suggests the company is thinking beyond a single gadget. Gurman's report does not detail what other devices might follow, but it does say the speaker is expected to arrive in 2027.
Designed to Avoid Apple's Shadow
The device will look and feel nothing like an Apple product. That is notable because OpenAI and Apple are involved in an ongoing lawsuit. The legal dispute has not been detailed in the report, but it clearly shapes the design direction. Ive, who spent years designing iPhones and other Apple products, is now working on something deliberately distinct.
The doughnut shape and moving parts are meant to give the device a character of its own. The self-moving components, in particular, could make the speaker feel more alive or responsive. Lights and a camera system add further sensing capability, though the report does not specify what the camera will be used for.
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A Portable Speaker With a Modern Twist
Amazon's Tap speaker, which launched years ago, was also a portable, battery-powered smart speaker. It was discontinued, but it showed there is a market for moving a voice assistant around the home. OpenAI's device appears to follow that same concept, but with far more advanced AI models behind it.
The device is designed to be easy to carry around the home with one hand, which makes it a natural fit for kitchens, bedrooms, or living rooms. Without a display, it relies entirely on voice interaction. That could appeal to users who want an AI assistant without staring at a screen.
Stevie Bonifield, a news writer at The Verge, wrote the article reporting these details. Bonifield previously worked at Laptop Mag covering hardware, gaming, and AI. The article was published on Aug 6, 2026, at 8:55 PM UTC. The photo accompanying the report is credited to Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Vox Media.
What Comes Next
The speaker is still more than a year away. Gurman's report says sources expect a 2027 launch, with a price over $300. That puts it in the premium smart speaker range, above most current models but below flagship phones.
OpenAI's broader hardware ambitions remain unclear. The "family of devices" language suggests more products are in development, but no details have surfaced yet. We'll probably hear a lot more about all of them before it eventually arrives.
For now, the doughnut-shaped speaker is the clearest sign yet of what OpenAI and Ive have been building together. It is a voice-first device with a distinctive look, designed to feel nothing like Apple's products. Whether it succeeds will depend on how well it integrates with OpenAI's models and how users adapt to a screenless assistant.
The report also arrives amid ongoing legal tension between OpenAI and Apple. That context makes the design choice to avoid Apple-like aesthetics more than a stylistic preference. It is a deliberate separation.