Is OpenAI's Secret Jony Ive Device Slipping to 2027? Inside the Screenless Gadget Nobody Can Agree On

OpenAI bought a hardware startup for billions of dollars, put the designer of the iPhone in charge of building its first product, and then told almost nobody what that product actually is. More than a year later, the gadget still doesn't have a confirmed shape, a confirmed name, or a confirmed release date — and the rumor mill has been filling in the blanks with conflicting stories ever since. Here's what's reportedly known, what isn't, and why the gaps matter.

The $6.5 Billion Mystery Box

In May 2025, OpenAI acquired io, the secretive hardware startup co-founded by former Apple chief design officer Jony Ive. Reported deal values vary depending on the outlet — figures of roughly $6.4 billion and $6.5 billion in equity have both circulated, on top of a reported 23% stake OpenAI already held in the company. The inconsistency itself is a small reminder of how little has been officially confirmed about this project: even the headline number isn't settled in the press.

What is consistent across reporting is the ambition. Sam Altman has reportedly described the unreleased product as "the coolest piece of technology that the world will have ever seen," and said OpenAI's first device would be as significant as the iPhone — but designed to bring, in his words, "peace and calm" rather than the constant pings and flashing lights of a smartphone. Ive, for his part, said at a public event late last year that the team finally had working prototypes and expected a reveal "within two years or less."

Nobody Can Agree What It Looks Like

This is where the rumor mill gets genuinely messy — and worth treating with real skepticism. Various reports, citing sources close to the project, have described wildly different concepts: a screen-free device meant to sit on a desk alongside a phone and laptop; a wearable styled like a necklace or pendant with built-in cameras and microphones but no display; a pen-shaped gadget nicknamed "Gumdrop" in some leaks; and an earbud-style device reportedly codenamed "Sweetpea." A separate German tech outlet, Notebookcheck, described an early prototype as roughly the size of an Apple iPod Shuffle.

None of these have been confirmed by OpenAI. What has been reported more consistently is what the device reportedly won't be: according to multiple outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Altman and Ive have said it isn't a phone and isn't smart glasses, and that it's designed to be used without constantly looking at a screen. Beyond that, treat any specific shape or codename circulating online as unconfirmed speculation, not settled fact.

The Timeline Keeps Moving — and So Does the Name

OpenAI's chief global affairs officer reportedly suggested at Davos earlier this year that a reveal could come in the second half of 2026. That window now looks shaky. According to reporting on a court filing tied to a trademark dispute, OpenAI executive Peter Welinder stated the device "will not ship to customers before the end of February 2027" — a notably more conservative timeline than the company's earlier public hints.

That same trademark dispute is reportedly why the product may never actually be called "io." The name overlaps with iyO, a hearing-device startup that has pursued legal action, and reports suggest OpenAI may need to rebrand the product before launch — assuming the "io" name doesn't survive the legal fight at all.

When the Rumor Mill Gets It Wrong

The device has also become a case study in how quickly unverified hype can spiral. A viral post that circulated widely claimed OpenAI had pulled a Super Bowl ad meant to unveil the gadget. It wasn't true. An OpenAI spokesperson told Wired the company had nothing to do with the video, and OpenAI later said the clip was fabricated outright. It's a useful reminder for readers following this story: the appetite for OpenAI hardware leaks is high enough that fabricated "leaks" can travel just as far as real reporting — sometimes farther.

Why This Is Worth Watching From the Gulf

This isn't just a Silicon Valley curiosity. OpenAI's infrastructure ambitions already run directly through the UAE — Abu Dhabi has backed the company's regional data-center buildout, and the Gulf has positioned itself as a key partner in OpenAI's compute strategy. A consumer hardware line that actually challenges the smartphone would reshape the kind of devices OpenAI needs manufactured, powered, and supported at scale — and would raise the stakes on exactly the kind of AI infrastructure bets the region has already made. If the device slips further, or launches as a niche accessory rather than an "iPhone moment," that calculus changes too.

The Bottom Line

Strip away the codenames and the breathless "this changes everything" framing, and what's actually confirmed is fairly modest: OpenAI owns a hardware startup, Jony Ive is leading its design, prototypes reportedly exist, and a senior executive has put a legal document behind a release window of "no earlier than February 2027." Everything else — the shape, the name, the exact price tag OpenAI paid for io, even whether it ships in 2027 at all — remains some mix of leak, guess, and corporate hint. Given how often this particular rumor has already been wrong, that's exactly the kind of story worth revisiting once there's an actual product to look at, rather than a prototype described secondhand.