OpenAI is preparing a major push into consumer hardware with a screenless, artificial intelligence (AI)-first smart speaker shaped like a doughnut, aiming for a 2027 release despite an escalating legal clash with Apple Inc.

The battery-powered device, engineered in collaboration with legendary former Apple designer Jony Ive and his studio LoveFrom, is about the size of a hockey puck and crafted from high-quality metal, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter.

Internal discussions place its expected price tag between $300 and $400. Built to be easily carried with one hand or tucked into a pocket, the hardware is intended to serve as a mobile, highly personalized companion designed to learn user habits over time.

To differentiate itself from stationary market leaders like Amazon Echo and Google Nest, the hockey-puck-sized speaker features mechanical moving parts and dynamic lighting designed to give the object a personality.

The moving components will physicalize responses, making interactions feel more lifelike. Armed with advanced microphones, speaker grills, camera systems, and environmental sensors, the device will process ambient visual and auditory context, operating like an upgraded, proactive version of ChatGPT’s voice mode.

The product marks OpenAI’s inaugural step toward building a broader hardware ecosystem — and ultimately, a long-term bid to create a platform that could eventually rival or replace the modern smartphone.

OpenAI acquired Ive’s device startup last year and is reportedly targeting ambitious production runs of up to 100 million units.

However, the hardware ambitions land in the middle of a high-stakes legal feud between OpenAI and Apple.

The iPhone maker recently filed a trade secrets lawsuit and requested an injunction against the AI firm. Apple alleges that OpenAI inappropriately instructed a shared supply-chain partner to deploy a proprietary metal-finishing technique originally developed for Apple products.

OpenAI has forcefully rejected the allegations, labeling them “careless, aggressive, and oddly personal.”

In a motion to dismiss filed late Wednesday, OpenAI maintained that an internal probe confirmed no trade secrets were infringed, arguing the ring-shaped, screenless design represents an entirely new product category unexamined by Apple.

“OpenAI is building something entirely new and different from anything at Apple,” the filing said.

While Apple is developing its own future robotics-driven home displays, it currently lacks a portable, battery-powered smart speaker in its lineup. A representative for San Francisco-based OpenAI declined to comment on its specific hardware roadmaps.

If granted by the court, Apple’s requested injunction could complicate OpenAI’s intended launch timeline.

For now, sources say internal development continues at full speed toward an official unveiling later this year ahead of the planned 2027 rollout.