There have been many rumors about OpenAI’s hardware plans, which include the release of a pair of headphones. A new note from industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggests that the AI firm may be working on a phone in partnership with MediaTek, Qualcomm and Luxshare.
Kuo, who has commented on several Apple hardware designs in the past, said OpenAI will develop a smartphone chip with MediaTek and Qualcomm, with Luxshare acting as a design and manufacturing partner.
The analyst note also suggests that instead of apps, the smartphone could rely on AI agents to complete different tasks. Currently, Apple and Google control the line of apps and the type of system access they have, limiting some of their functionality. Kuo suggests that by creating its own smartphone and hardware stack, OpenAI will be able to use AI in all kinds of features without limitations. With ChatGPT approaching one billion weekly users, an everyday hardware product could also bode well for OpenAI’s ambition to reach more consumers.
This thinking is not limited to OpenAI. Vibe Coding App Creators predict a future which does not include applications. Nothing CEO Carl Pei said at SXSW that apps will eventually go away.
Kuo believes OpenAI’s smartphone will be designed to constantly understand users’ context. By offering the phone itself, the company could gain access to more data about user habits than an app on the phone. He also said the company will work on a mix of small on-device and cloud models to handle different types of requests and tasks.
The analyst said the smartphone’s specifications and component suppliers are expected to be finalized by the end of the year or by the first quarter of 2027, with mass production of the device expected to begin in 2028.
Earlier this year, OpenAI Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane said the company is on track to announce its first hardware product in the second half of 2026. Several exhibitions at the time it showed that the device could be uniquely designed headphones.
OpenAI did not comment on the story at the time of writing.
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