OpenAI’s secretive hardware project with legendary designer Jony Ive is stirring curiosity, but not conviction. Despite the big names behind it, many tech-savvy consumers say they’re struggling to feel excited about a device no one fully understands.
Reports indicate the gadget is still two years away, with Sam Altman and Ive offering almost no details beyond wanting it to pass a “lick test”, a durability benchmark Apple once used for kid-friendly products. Beyond that, everything remains speculation.
What’s fueling the skepticism is simple: no one knows what this thing does, or why anyone would need it more than a smartphone.
The safest assumption so far is that the device will be some kind of AI-driven audio assistant , perhaps a wearable or a compact speaker that listens, responds, and adapts. But early attempts at similar products have mostly fallen flat.
Humane’s AI Pin, a small clip-on camera-and-mic device, promised a hands-free, screenless future. It collapsed under buggy performance and scathing reviews. Its silicon-valley ambitions outpaced reality.
The “Friend” necklace, a wearable that listened to conversations and acted like a chatty AI companion, triggered immediate backlash, with New Yorkers vandalizing subway ads branding it dystopian. Reviews were no kinder, describing inconsistent responses and a concept that crossed personal boundaries.
Less flashy AI audio tools, like the Plaud Note, actually work. They sit quietly in meetings or lectures and generate clean summaries. Functional? Sure. Exciting? Not really.
Even people who rely on transcription tools say they don’t want every conversation monitored. Privacy concerns and real-world awkwardness, like talking to an AI device in public, create friction that no hardware design has solved.The larger question is what this mystery device can do that phones can’t.
Modern smartphones already manage reminders, weather, conversions, shopping, maps, calls, and voice assistants. Even those who own smart speakers rarely push them beyond basic tasks. Reimagining that experience in hardware requires a breakthrough, not a repackaged assistant with premium design.
The project could still surprise. Two years is a long time in AI, and Altman and Ive together have the influence to shift consumer expectations.
But for now, enthusiasm is muted. Until OpenAI shows why this device deserves to exist, not just who designed it, many remain unconvinced that the world needs one more AI gadget.
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