OpenAI Accelerates Development of First AI Phone, Targeting Mass Production in 2027
According to the latest report by well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, OpenAI is accelerating the development of its first "AI agent phone," with an internal goal of completing mass production preparations as early as the first half of next year. The mass production timeline has been significantly advanced from the previously expected 2028 to the first half of 2027. Kuo states that this device is considered a key product for OpenAI in the hardware sector and will directly compete with existing smartphones.
According to its supply chain research, OpenAI has previously selected MediaTek and Qualcomm as chip partners, with Luxshare Precision Industry as the exclusive manufacturer. The latest assessment suggests that MediaTek "has a greater chance of becoming the sole processor supplier," with OpenAI planning to adopt a deeply customized processor based on the Dimensity 9600. This processor is expected to be manufactured by TSMC using the N2P process node in the second half of 2026.
In terms of configuration planning, the "highlight specification" of this AI phone is said to be its image signal processor (ISP), which will be deeply customized around enhancing the HDR processing flow to improve the device's "perception of the real world," allowing AI to better understand the environment through the camera. Simultaneously, the device will be equipped with two AI processors, responsible for different types of tasks (such as parallel processing of vision and language), coupled with high-speed memory and storage, as well as security designs to isolate different processes, to support core AI computing and privacy protection needs.
From a business perspective, the advancement of the mass production target to the first half of 2027 is believed to be closely related to OpenAI's preparations for an initial public offering (IPO). Ming-Chi Kuo analyzes that a representative hardware product that can demonstrate complete AI capabilities will help tell a more attractive growth story in the capital market. Furthermore, the increasing competition in the AI agent phone sector is also a significant driving force behind OpenAI's acceleration of its hardware development.
Ming-Chi Kuo estimates that if research and development and mass production progress smoothly, OpenAI's AI phone shipments could reach approximately 30 million units between 2027 and 2028. He believes that to truly implement a complete AI agent service ecosystem, companies must simultaneously control the operating system and hardware platform, with deep integration between the two, to create enough space for AI in terms of interaction mode and system architecture. In his vision, AI agents will reshape the way users interact with their phones – people will no longer operate around individual Apps, but rather directly "assign tasks" in an environment with contextual understanding.
However, this phone plan has also raised questions about the prospects of the "non-phone form factor AI device" led by Jony Ive. After OpenAI acquired Ive's startup io Products in May 2025, it heavily promoted its first hardware prototype, calling it the "third core device" after the MacBook Pro and iPhone, and was touted by CEO Sam Altman as "the coolest tech product the world has ever seen." At the time, OpenAI emphasized that the device would not have a screen, partly because "phones already have screens, and they wanted to gradually free people from their dependence on screens."
Initially, the Ive-led AI device was planned for release this year, but in November 2025, the product roadmap was pushed back to "less than two years." The latest news indicates that the product form factor has been clearly defined as a smart speaker with a camera, expected to launch in early 2027. This means that the AI phone and the screenless AI device may overlap in time, and OpenAI's internal positioning of the relationship between the two remains unclear.
In addition to the phone and smart speaker, reports citing sources also indicate that OpenAI is planning several other hardware products, including smart glasses, smart desk lamps, and potentially headphones, but the release timelines for these products are relatively further out. Once these devices are released, OpenAI will directly compete with Apple in multiple categories, including smart glasses, AirPods with cameras, AI pendants, and smart home hubs with enhanced Siri capabilities, all of which are currently on Apple's rumored development list.
Overall, OpenAI's acceleration of the AI phone plan is both an attempt to embody its AI technology in hardware and a reflection of the trend of the smartphone industry evolving towards "AI integrated terminals." With the joint promotion of Apple, OpenAI, and other parties, the device form factors and interaction paradigms surrounding "AI agents" will be a key focus of the global consumer electronics market in the coming years.