OpenAI eyes AI smartphone, palm device

OpenAI is exploring an AI-first smartphone and a palm-sized companion device, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo’s report published Monday. (gadgets360.com) (business-standard.com) Kuo said OpenAI is working with Qualcomm and MediaTek on smartphone processors, while Luxshare is set to be the exclusive system co-design and manufacturing partner. He said mass production could begin in 2028. (gadgets360.com) (seekingalpha.com) The reported device strategy goes beyond a conventional handset. Kuo said OpenAI is also studying a palm-sized, screenless product that would use audio and video inputs and pass user intent to artificial intelligence agents instead of opening apps. (moneycontrol.com) (gadgets360.com) That would shift the device pitch from faster chips and better cameras to software that interprets a request and completes a task. Reports described the idea as an “AI agent” interface built around outcomes rather than rows of apps. (moneycontrol.com) (androidauthority.com) The report lands less than a year after OpenAI formalized its hardware ambitions with Jony Ive. On May 21, 2025, OpenAI said io Products had merged with the company and that Ive and LoveFrom had taken on deep design and creative responsibilities across OpenAI. (openai.com) OpenAI said at the time that “computers are now seeing, thinking and understanding,” but that people still experience them through traditional products and interfaces. The company did not name a phone in that announcement, but it framed hardware as part of the next computing platform. (openai.com) Outside reports in May 2025 put the io transaction at about $6.4 billion to $6.5 billion in stock and said the first products were expected in 2026. That gives Monday’s smartphone report a clearer supply-chain shape, even though OpenAI has not publicly confirmed the new device details. (cnbc.com) (axios.com) For now, the smartphone and screenless-device plans remain analyst-reported rather than officially announced. But the names attached — Qualcomm, MediaTek, Luxshare, Sam Altman and Jony Ive — show how far OpenAI’s hardware effort has moved from concept to supply-chain planning. (business-standard.com) (openai.com)