At OpenAI's DevDay, Sam Altman and Jony Ive spoke in vague terms about the “family of devices” currently under development; Altman says “it will take a while”
“I don't think we have an easy relationship with our technology at the moment,” the former Apple designer …
Context & Ripple Effects
This is a public confirmation of an effort that had previously surfaced through reports of Altman and Ive exploring AI hardware and later around io, the product venture they said would develop new products. The “family” framing suggests a broader product thesis than a single experimental gadget, while the lack of a timetable keeps the effort pre-commercial.
The remarks matter because OpenAI is pairing its AI platform ambitions with industrial-design leadership. They also follow reports that OpenAI had considered acquiring the Ive-linked io startup, making hardware integration a consequential strategic question rather than a side project.
First-order effects
- OpenAI, Altman, and Ive have raised expectations for a hardware portfolio, but offered no product category, launch commitment, or deployment schedule for customers and developers to plan around.
- The project remains in a design and development phase; Altman’s warning that it will take time tempers any near-term assumption of a new OpenAI device.
Second-order effects
- The public positioning increases pressure on the partnership to translate the io effort into a differentiated product experience, particularly after io’s founders said the company would develop new products with Altman and Ive.
- Potential hardware and software partners gain a clearer signal that OpenAI may seek a device-level route to users, but the absence of specifications leaves supplier, platform, and developer commitments premature.
Third-order effects
- If OpenAI executes, the effort would extend competition among AI companies from models and applications into control of the end-user device and interface—a version of the AI hardware strategy split.
- The central uncertainty is whether a new AI-first device family can establish a durable role alongside established personal-computing platforms; the current remarks provide intent, not evidence of market fit.
The trend: AI labs are increasingly testing whether owning the device and interface, not just the model, can shape how users access AI.