OpenAI’s first gadget is a $300 doughnut-shaped speaker that moves

The details come from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who reported on Wednesday. OpenAI’s first device is a smart speaker without a screen. It is shaped like a doughnut, roughly the size of a hockey puck. It runs on a battery, small enough to carry around the home in one hand. OpenAI has discussed a price of $300 to $400, and plans a 2027 release.

A speaker that moves

The design is the point. The circular device will have moving parts that shift on their own. They show when it is listening or responding, and make it feel more alive than a stationary speaker. It carries speaker grills, microphones, lights, a camera, and other sensors that feed what it sees back into the AI.

It works like ChatGPT’s voice mode, but with more advanced models and a memory. It learns about a user over time. That lets it tailor conversations and, OpenAI hopes, act more like a person than a gadget. Jony Ive’s LoveFrom studio designed it, the team behind the io startup OpenAI bought for $6.5bn last year.

The Apple problem

The gadget lands in the middle of a fight. Apple is suing OpenAI, alleging it stole trade secrets tied to hardware. OpenAI denies it, and late on Wednesday asked a judge to throw the case out. “OpenAI is building something entirely new and different from anything at Apple,” the filing said.

Gurman’s sources push the same line. The device, they say, looks and acts “nothing like an Apple product”. OpenAI also found no evidence it uses Apple’s secrets. Apple’s suit points to a metal-finishing technique for the device’s premium metal shell. Its request this week for an injunction, if granted, could still delay the launch.

OpenAI has not been shy about staffing up for this fight. It built a hardware group in part by hiring away Apple talent, including a former Vision Pro leader. The lawsuit reads, in that light, as much about people and process as about any single design.

The harder question is whether anyone buys it

The speaker is a first step. OpenAI has said it is building a whole family of devices. It eased in with a speaker rather than the always-on glasses that raise privacy alarms. Bloomberg first detailed the screenless companion last month. This is the version with a price.

That price is the risk. At $300 to $400 it costs far more than most smart speakers. Amazon and Google dominate that category, and the devices have rarely turned a profit. TechCrunch called it “an expensive talking AI donut” with moving parts. Whether it is a computer people carry from room to room, or a costly curiosity, is the question 2027 will settle.