Good news! Sam Altman's new gadget we'll all supposedly want as a 3rd AI device (w/phone+computer) is hitting roadblocks

[highplainsdem]

Last year, Altman's OpenAI acquired io Products, the AI company founded the year before by former Apple design chief Jony Ive.

Altman and Ive are working on an AI gadget. They've been cagey about what it will look like, but want everyone to know we'll really need it. Altman hyped it in November:

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/24/openai-hardware-jony-ive-sam-altman-emerson-collective.html

Altman declined to answer a question about what exactly OpenAI is building, but said the company is targeting a calmer “vibe” with its hardware versus smartphones, which he compared to walking through Times Square.

“You can then go for a vibe that is not like walking through Times Square and getting bumped into and having all this stuff compete for your attention,” Altman said. “But, like, sitting in the most beautiful cabin by a lake and in the mountains and sort of just enjoying the peace and calm.”

He said a smart AI device will be able to do things for the user over long periods of time, filter things out and understand when something is important enough to notify the user. Altman added that the device will be able to “know everything you’ve ever thought about, read, said.”

Sounds alluring, right? Because what everyone needs is another hallucinating AI chatbot that will know everything you’ve ever thought about, read, and said.

But all is not going well in AI hardware paradise, by that mountain lake or wherever it is.

As Gizmodo.explains:

https://gizmodo.com/sam-altman-and-jony-ives-ai-gadget-just-hit-another-eyebrow-raising-roadblock-2000720067

First they were sued and found out they can't use the io name for their products, which they don't have a name for now.

That’s snag number one. Snag number two is that the company now has a new timeline for the release of its first piece of hardware, and it’s a bit further out than we had anticipated. According to Wired, Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s now nameless company will not start shipping its first gadget until February of 2027. The Information and Axios have reported that OpenAI could unveil its devices as soon as this year. As a result, the projected unveiling of the device by the second half of this year is now uncertain, though the company might still have something to show by then.

I say “might” because it’s really hard to tell just how far along any of this stuff is. Reports last year of difficulties getting devices to do basic stuff aren’t instilling much confidence. According to a report from the Financial Times, Sam Altman and Jony Ive are struggling to actually muster the computing power to enable their computer(s) to, um, compute. On top of that, they’re struggling to get their voice assistant (which apparently is supposed to be listening all the time) to function in a way that makes the device usable. One problem in particular has reportedly been getting the voice assistant to listen when you want it to and shut up when appropriate.

TechCrunch had a bit more detail:

https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/05/openai-and-jony-ive-may-be-struggling-to-figure-out-their-ai-device/

The FT now says that OpenAI and Ive aim to create “a palm-sized device without a screen that can take audio and visual cues from the physical environment and respond to users’ requests.” But unresolved issues around the device’s “personality,” how it handles privacy, and computing infrastructure might delay the launch.

For example, one source told the FT that rather than waiting for a specific verbal prompt, the device would take an “always on” approach — but the team has reportedly struggled to ensure it only speaks up when useful and ends its conversations at the appropriate time.

Which doesn't sound much like the peaceful, calm vibe Altman was promising.

Announcing they won't be releasing this gadget for at least a year suggests they aren't making much headway with the problems.

I think they should just go stay in a cabin by a peaceful mountain lake and enjoy their chatterbot device. Maybe they'll decide it's marketable anyway, just like the badly hallucinating ChatGPT Altman decided to release three years ago. And this new chatterbot will know everything about them. Imagine the possibilities when it won't shut up.

If nothing else, they can see how far they can skip it across the lake...

Gotta love these tech geniuses for always thinking of designing products we really need.

[SheltieLover]

1. Good! I'll never use ai!

Ty for sharing!

[Tetrachloride]

2. Ive sabotaged Steve Jobs user interfaces

to bland white and disappearing aspects.

his AI is sure to be as considerate

[RockRaven]

3. Words fail me in any attempt to describe how much I un-want any such thing.

[eppur_se_muova]

4. ...

[Brenda]

5. lol

I think Sylvester is among a very very large group of humans.

So sick and tired of the tech bros telling everyone what intrusive tech shit they should pay for and the nazi/religious bros telling everyone what thoughts and actions we are allowed or not allowed to have.