OpenAI's First AI Device with Jony Ive Will Not Be a Wearable

OpenAI and Jony Ive are collaborating on an AI device that is not an in-ear or wearable device, with a planned release no earlier than 2026. This information emerged from court filings related to a trademark lawsuit involving OpenAI's acquisition of io, a consumer hardware team from Jony Ive's design studio, for $6.5 billion. Tang Tan, io's chief hardware officer and former Apple design leader, stated in a June 16th declaration that the prototype referenced by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is at least a year away from being offered for sale, and its design is not yet finalized. Over the weekend, OpenAI removed public references to the io brand due to a temporary restraining order granted on behalf of an audio device startup called Iyo. Iyo alleges that OpenAI willfully infringed on its trademark, providing emails indicating that leaders from io and OpenAI, including CEO Sam Altman, were aware of Iyo's existence and had even requested a demo of its yet-to-be-released in-ear headphone, described as 'the world's first audio computer.' OpenAI's June 12th opposition to Iyo's lawsuit states that io considered a broad range of form factors during its early development stages, including desktop-based, mobile, wireless, wired, wearable, and portable devices. As part of these efforts, io purchased a wide range of earbuds, hearing aids, and at least 30 different headphone sets from various companies.