Jony Ive and OpenAI screenless AI gadget wants to replace your phone

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Picture this: Sam Altman walks onto a stage, holds up a mysterious little gadget, and everyone squints and goes, “Wait… that’s it?” 

According to Altman, that mild confusion is actually the whole point.

In a recent appearance alongside legendary Apple designer Jony Ive, Altman gave the world a tiny peek into OpenAI’s first real foray into hardware, a product so minimalist that it allegedly doesn’t even have a screen. 

Yes, screenless. In 2025. Bold. Reckless. Possibly genius.

The device, which is still in prototype form, comes from OpenAI’s acquisition of Ive’s design company, io. 

This move made it immediately clear they weren’t just building smarter software, but trying to summon the spiritual successor to the iPhone. 

Altman, never one to keep comparisons humble, called the iPhone the “crowning achievement of consumer products” and basically divided his life into Before iPhone and After iPhone. 

A relatable timeline for most of us who vaguely remember using maps made of paper.

But instead of another dopamine-fueled rectangle, Altman says today’s tech has gone full Times Square: bright, loud, notification-filled chaos interrupting your soul every three minutes to let you know someone liked your comment from 2019. He’s not a fan.

OpenAI’s device, on the other hand, is supposed to feel like sitting in a peaceful cabin by a mountain lake, except instead of birds and fresh air, you get AI quietly handling your life logistics. 

It’s designed to filter noise, understand your context, and know when not to bug you. 

So instead of shoving notifications in your face, it might politely wait until you’re done spiraling before reminding you about your dentist appointment.

Altman says the idea is that you’d trust this thing over time, and it would slowly build a contextual awareness of your life, your habits, needs, and possibly your addiction to late-night snack deliveries.

Jony Ive, delivering peak Ive energy, described the device as being “naively simple” while also incredibly sophisticated, the kind of object you’d want to touch, use carelessly, and not feel intimidated by. 

Basically: powerful enough to run your life, but chill enough that you won’t feel like you’re being judged by a robot.

Oh, and if all this sounds like vaporware? Ive says the device should be available in under two years. 

So, sometime soon, you might be carrying a tiny, screenless AI lake cabin in your pocket, quietly judging your life choices, but in a calming, minimalist font.