OpenAI is teaming up with iPhone designer Jony Ive to build a new AI device

So, OpenAI is getting into hardware now. Yep. The AI powerhouse behind ChatGPT just made one of its boldest moves yet – acquiring io, a secretive startup led by none other than Jony Ive, Apple’s legendary former design chief. And this acquisition is a clear signal that OpenAI is serious about building physical products, not just AI software, and it’s bringing in design royalty to do it. You can read the announcement here.

The deal reportedly clocks in at $6.5 billion and brings around 55 engineers and designers under the OpenAI umbrella. Among them are former Apple veterans Scott Cannon, Evans Hankey, and Tang Tan, names that may not ring a bell for everyone, but ones that helped bring to life some of Apple’s most iconic products.

This is not a Humane Pin sequel

Let’s address the elephant in the room. This is not another lapel pin with an assistant baked in. Jony Ive made it clear he’s not here to iterate on gimmicky wearable tech. He’s publicly criticised such devices for lacking vision and imagination. Whatever’s cooking here is meant to be much more ambitious.

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According to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, the device isn’t a smartphone replacement. Instead, he compares it to the way smartphones didn’t kill laptops, it’s “a totally new kind of thing”. That may sound cryptic, but it’s also classic Altman, hinting at paradigm shifts without showing the cards just yet.

As for Ive, he’s gone on record calling it “the coolest piece of technology the world will have ever seen.” Lofty? Definitely. But coming from the guy who helped design the iPhone, iMac, and Apple Watch, it’s hard not to take that seriously.

Ive isn’t joining OpenAI, but his fingerprints will be everywhere

Interestingly, Jony Ive won’t be taking a seat at OpenAI’s leadership table. Instead, his design firm, LoveFrom, will lead the entire design direction across OpenAI’s products – hardware and software alike. That’s a rare arrangement and a pretty massive vote of confidence in the studio’s creative vision.

LoveFrom’s involvement suggests OpenAI is thinking beyond code and language models. It’s investing in emotional design, in user experience, and in making AI feel personal, not just powerful.

The 2026 timeline and what that tells us

There’s no product reveal yet. But the roadmap is set. OpenAI expects its first hardware product from this collaboration to land in 2026. That gives the team time to do something truly foundational. Not just retrofit existing tech with AI, but create a new category designed around AI from the ground up. It’s the kind of timeline that suggests they’re playing a long game.

Altman summarised it best, “Great tools require work at the intersection of technology, design, and understanding people and the world. No one can do this like Jony and his team”.

Why this matters: Not just another gadget

From LoveFrom’s design ethos to OpenAI’s ever-expanding capabilities, the partnership promises something less about screens and specs, and more about meaningful interaction, responsibility, and delight. Altman even said he hopes the device brings back “the delight, wonder and creative spirit” he felt the first time he used an Apple computer.

That’s a high bar to clear. But if there’s anyone who might be able to pull it off, it’s probably the team that built the iPhone and the team that built GPT-4. Together.