New Delhi: The long-secretive AI hardware project of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and the former Apple design head Jony Ive could finally be coming into form. Their new leaks indicate the first product might be an AI-based pen, indicating a new manner in which the user might interact with the artificial intelligence outside of the screens and smartphones.
The partnership, which was announced earlier this year, was a well-kept secret. Yet, a leaker on X says that the device is internally referred to as Gumdrop and is being tested as a portable pen-like device with serious AI features. Though it is not yet confirmed officially, the leak provides the best visual of what the hardware ambitions of OpenAI might be like.
An AI pen with ChatGPT at its core
The leak states that the Gumdrop device will be able to serve as either a smart pen or a small, portable audio player. Handwritten note capture is likely to be one of its most significant functions, where the text in a handwritten note can be translated into the digital format by an AI in real time. It is also expected to heavily integrate with ChatGPT, and, possibly, it will enable users to summarise notes, ask follow-up questions, or create content directly out of what they write.
It is theorised that a working prototype already exists, which has already been hinted at by Sam Altman, which further indicates that the project is further down the road than the concept phase. The concept of a pen form factor is an indication that it is a conscious effort to abandon AI devices that are screen-dependent.
Possible launch timeline and pricing
The device may be launched in the first half of 2027. It is speculated that it will be a premium product in the industry, and the launch price is estimated to be between Rs 55,000 and Rs 65,000 in India. It is also rumoured that OpenAI will package the hardware together with an optional ChatGPT subscription, which can raise the cost for the long-term user.
Manufacturing plans outside China
The same informer asserts that OpenAI is not eager to produce the device in China. Rather, it is anticipated that production will be taken by Foxconn, based in Vietnam and the US. Previous news stories had associated the project with Chinese manufacturer Luxshare, which now seems questionable.
This risk aversion to production mirrors more general geopolitical and supply-chain anxieties, particularly among high-profiled technology companies.
OpenAI and Ive appear to have avoided the traps of the previous independent AI-based devices, such as the Rabbit R1 and Humane AI Pin. Such products were unable to compete with smartphones. The design of the product, which focuses on the pen, possibly represents a bet by the team on a more natural and daily interaction with AI.
Although the specifics are still few, the Gumdrop leak indicates that the initial hardware initiative developed by OpenAI might not be focused on the replacement of phones and more focused on the quiet improvement of how individuals write, think, and work with AI.