OpenAI confirms its first consumer AI device is coming this year, and it may be earbuds

[DragonSlayer101]

Highly anticipated: OpenAI is preparing to make its first real push beyond software and into consumer hardware, a move that could reshape how people interact with AI. The company has confirmed that its first consumer device will launch later this year, and while details remain tightly guarded, recent rumors point to a pair of AI-powered earbuds codenamed "Sweetpea," signaling OpenAI's ambitions to bring its technology out of the cloud and into everyday life.

Speaking to Axios at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, OpenAI's chief global affairs officer, Chris Lehane, said the upcoming device is one of the company's top priorities and remains on track for a launch in the second half of the year.

Lehane did not provide further details, but Taiwan's Economic Daily reports that OpenAI is targeting a global release in September 2026. The publication adds that the device is expected to be manufactured by Foxconn in Vietnam, with OpenAI projecting first-year sales of between 40 and 50 million units.

Reports about the AI earbuds first surfaced earlier this month, when tipster Smart Pikachu claimed that OpenAI's debut consumer device would use a 2nm Samsung Exynos chip for on-device AI processing. Most of the AI workload, however, is reportedly expected to run in the cloud.

Hearing fresh detail on Openai "To-go" hardware project from last report. Now confirmed it is a special audio product to replace Airpod, internal code name is "Sweetpea"

On manufacturing, Foxconn has been told to prepare for total 5 devices by Q4 2028. All not known but a home… https://t.co/svOCBuyapI pic.twitter.com/SFumFfRIeF

– Smart Pikachu (Weibo) (@zhihuipikachu) January 12, 2026

OpenAI announced last May that it had acquired an AI startup co-founded by former Apple chief designer Jony Ive for a reported $6.5 billion. The company also confirmed it is working with Ive on multiple AI-focused devices that could launch over the next few years.

In addition to the earbuds, OpenAI is rumored to be developing a second consumer device codenamed "Gumdrop."

That product is said to include a range of sensors, along with cameras and microphones for contextual awareness. Unlike Sweetpea, Gumdrop is not expected to be a wearable and would instead be carried in a pocket, similar to a smartphone.

Even as OpenAI moves into consumer hardware, ChatGPT remains the company's flagship product and continues to receive frequent updates. Most recently, OpenAI announced plans to roll out an AI-based age prediction system designed to estimate a user's age and automatically apply content protections if the system identifies them as a minor.

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OpenAI confirms its first consumer AI device is coming this year, and it may be earbuds

 

[Skully]

Maybe I'm missing something, but I'm at a loss for how this would help the listening experience. If this is the best OPenAI can come up with it's going to be a long road for them.

 

[OortCloud]

Now we can be told to eat rocks while getting all our movements, and conversations analysed and sent back to a data center to profile and sell to anybody who comes knocking. The future's bright!

 

[JMGuy]

What an insanely unimaginative use for AI.

AI is a cool tech but its applications are limited. This is evident here with yet another textbook example of a solution in search of a problem.

Phones already do this. Headphones already do this. Adding always-on microphones and cloud dependency doesn’t make it innovative. What does it do better that existing products don’t already do? If they had anything that sounded remotely like an answer to that question it would be in the article.

My take away: it does diddly squat. This isn’t a vision—it’s annoyingly obvious desperation with absolutely zero charisma and Altman is no Jobs. Take a hike Sam.

The AI hype is finally starting to wobble and catch up to its BS mouth. I genuinely cannot wait for this bubble to pop. The industry needs to get back to building things people actually need, instead of more slop, more gimmicks, and more junk. Enough! Lol.

 

[NumberNine]

Oh to be Jony Ive. I'd charge $2.5 mil upfront and $50 per sold unit to administer my sacred blessing to any hardware above a certain price point.

 

[passwordistaco]

Hundreds of billions of dollars, strained power grids, and a worldwide electronics panic to bring the world...

earbuds.


Truly a boon to all of humanity.

 

[Sherwoodnt]

Hundreds of billions of dollars, strained power grids, and a worldwide electronics panic to bring the world...

earbuds.


Truly a boon to all of humanity.

Truly. Will future me ever forgive myself for not identifying the bubble at this point? Even Nadella is cracking

 

[ScottSoapbox]

Obviously worth hundreds of dollars to use these instead of my existing earbuds with the chatgpt app on my phone because… …reasons.

… Oh! on my phone I can use any AI app instead of just one and oh wait.

 

[exothermic]

Interested to see what they do with both. The earbud space still has a lot of potential. Real-time translation and speech clarification come to mind. I would also love to see more earbuds other than airpods being able to act as hearing aids.

 

[themastergoose]

So many questions here. What can these do that AirPods (or Android alternatives from Samsung and Google) can’t already do?

I assume as these “AI” earbuds are cloud based as per the article, it will need a phone nearby to handle the offload so again I don’t see the point of them as that’s what my AirPods already do if I call up Siri and it goes to ChatGPT via my phone to get the answer.

If they can communicate with the cloud without a phone (that would’ve a world first as far as I’m aware), then a whole slew of questions over yet another subscription plus needing another cell plan come up, and our good old friend data privacy pop back up again too.

I can’t see these selling well either way to be honest.

 

[gingerbill]

Earbuds , really ? that's it? .

AI my arse.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

So many questions here. What can these do that AirPods (or Android alternatives from Samsung and Google) can’t already do?

I assume as these “AI” earbuds are cloud based as per the article, it will need a phone nearby to handle the offload so again I don’t see the point of them as that’s what my AirPods already do if I call up Siri and it goes to ChatGPT via my phone to get the answer.

If they can communicate with the cloud without a phone (that would’ve a world first as far as I’m aware), then a whole slew of questions over yet another subscription plus needing another cell plan come up, and our good old friend data privacy pop back up again too.

I can’t see these selling well either way to be honest.

The main benefits are for OpenAI:
- AI model lock-in
- Hardware revenue (very significant $ if everyone buys one)
- Living outside Apple/Google's walls (mostly or completely depends on separate data connection)

Customer benefits:
- Not needing to take your phone out to access the camera
- (maybe doom scrolling while still chatting with your AI "friend" -shrug-)

 

[saladbarsmash]

The fact that ChatGPT is able to identify what people are wearing, eating for food using the phone's mic and camera and then provide suggestions is terrifying. Imagine what they'll do with always on earbuds? Sam is a POS and can't be trusted. This is worse than anything Alexa did, which was pretty bad.

 

[p51d007]

AI is becoming the more megapixels is better, more horsepower is better, brighter screens bolder colors is better catch phrase in an attempt to sell something.