Jony Ive's First OpenAI Device Will Be Smart Speaker With Camera, 2027 Launch Planned

[johnsawyercjs]

The more I think about this thing, the more it starts to sound like a smaller, smoother version of a Homepod mini, but with an ultrawide camera. Maybe Ive and Altman are imagining that rather than buying just one and carrying it around, people will buy multiples of these devices and place them around their home or office the same way you need multiple smart speakers from other manufacturers to cover an entire multi-room living and/or work space. Latest rumors are that it'll come with a Q2 charging puck so you can pick up the device with one hand, instead of using two hands to hold onto it while unplugging a charging cord from a socket.

It seems that one way OpenAI has decided to distinguish their device from Apple's upcoming "HomePad"(?) is the lack of a screen. Ive wants it to be a minimalist device you don't have to look at or be visually distracted by to get it to work, but that it will "fade into the background" instead. That seems to also be their thinking behind their "Smart Lamp", to have something in a room that might be there anyway, but augmented with their device's guts.

 

[Cameront9]

It was a dumb idea when it was a pendant and it's a dumb idea when it's a smart speaker but now with new hat!

 

[Velin]

Will check out the speaker.

But am much more likely to stick with iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Gemini Pro implementation. This is the preferred entryway.

 

[johnsawyercjs]

Go ahead and laugh, but you might want to watch the movie Her first. In it, people interact with a computer using nothing but voice (a microphone and speaker) and a camera. Almost like interacting with another human being.

Think about it. How do you interact with a person, if you think in terms of their interface? You talk to them. You listen to them. They see you. You see them.

Yup, it seems this is part of OpenAI's thinking. People and animals we interact with don't have screens, so we don't always have to move our visual focus to them and face them, so adding a screen to a smart speaker, as Apple will be doing with its "HomePad", introduces another screen as a focal point, requiring our attention to shift towards it to get it to do much of what it does. You have to get close to it, move your visual focus to it, then reach out (at least part of the time, when not using voice commands) to touch it to initiate actions.

This seems fine for many, maybe most people, especially since screens add a lot of functionality and we're accustomed to using them, but it seems OpenAI is betting on a customer base that prefers the kind of voice-mainly interactions we currently have with smart speakers, but much "smarter", and adding a camera for non-touch visual input too. As far as tactile interaction goes, while Apple's Homepad will require you to touch its screen every now and then, it seems from rumors about the physical design of OpenAI's device that it'll be smooth like a mini-sculpture, so that at least it'll have a nice feel in the hand if you have a reason to pick it up. Maybe they're expecting we'll want to pet it every now and then.

 

[trevoclark]

It really is a shame he would have sold his design firm to anyone. But to Altman is especially sad. But if you take the view that the iPhone enabled the state of society we have, and now partnering with AI which seems hellbent on sinking society, perhaps Jony is one of the four horsemen...

 

[akbarali.ch]

"OpenAI employees were told that the speaker would observe users and suggest actions to help them achieve goals, such as suggesting an early bedtime ahead of a morning meeting."

An AI version of "motivational", goal-focused influencers? Sounds like a f**king nightmare!

So, all those unmarried ones can also feel the same nagging the married ones feel.

 

[GuilleA]

And he'll probably write four books about how revolutionary his speaker is.

 

[Odan]

I wish at least Ive would collaborate with more reputable people...

 

[erinsarah]

How many OpenAI employees does it take to change a smart lightbulb?

None. That job has been replaced by AI.

 

[coreyweberling]

Yes.....a camera watching us at all times and listening in our homes......seems like a great idea....and certainly not going to be used by the government or advertisers in horrific ways.

 

[Rafagon]

Anything involving Scam Altman? No, thanks…

He's no worse than Tim Crook.

 

[riverguide]

I'm guessing the fan will actually be quite loud to get that kind of lift

It’ll come with earbuds that noise cancel the whirring sound of the fan 😊

 

[Mega ST]

It will be some AI microphone permanently spying on you not just a "speaker". You share any noises in your living room and private space to be harvested and profiled and sold for commercial purposes. How long will it take before your mobile phones and EarPods get hooked up to this system? And then the "glasses". Spy devices. If you have fun using them it might be okay but please not on other people.

 

[PBG4 Dude]

It will be some AI microphone permanently spying on you not just a "speaker". You share any noises in your living room and private space to be harvested and profiled and sold for commercial purposes. How long will it take before your mobile phones and EarPods get hooked up to this system? And then the "glasses". Spy devices. If you have fun using them it might be okay but please not on other people.

Pocket already does this and is available today (listening to everything).

Pocket - Take Notes In The Real World

Pocket is a small AI device that turns everything you say and hear into clear notes, action items, and search. We combine custom hardware, AI, and software to build the best note-taking experience for people who talk and move fast.

heypocket.com