OpenAI told a federal court its first hardware device ships at the earliest in February 20271. The filing came on Feb. 9, 2026. Peter Welinder, the company's vice president and general manager, filed it.
Welinder used the same filing to drop a name OpenAI had fought nine months to defend. He wrote that the company "decided not to use the name 'io' (or 'IYO,' or any capitalization of either)" on any AI hardware product1.
OpenAI's Device Reaches Customers 21 Months After the io Deal, at the Earliest
Dated events from OpenAI's May 2025 purchase of io Products to the February 2027 ship floor
Each dot is one dated event in the public record. The accent dot at the end is an estimate: the earliest date OpenAI has given a court for its device, the floor the company itself set.
Sources: 9to5Mac [1]; Variety [3]; 9to5Mac [8]; 9to5Mac [9]; The Fashion Law [10]; Deccan Herald [11]. Chart by Ryan Elliott Dennis.
The numbers behind this chart
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| May 21, 2025 | io deal closes. OpenAI buys Jony Ive's io Products for $6.5 billion |
| June 9, 2025 | iyO sues. iyO files its trademark complaint in federal court |
| June 20, 2025 | Restraining order. A judge bars OpenAI from using 'io' while the case proceeds |
| Jan. 19, 2026 | 'On track' for 2026. Chris Lehane tells Axios a 2026 unveiling is on track |
| Feb. 9, 2026 | Welinder's filing. OpenAI tells the court the device ships at the earliest in Feb. 2027 |
| April 24, 2026 | Injunction granted. A judge bars the 'io' name outright |
| July 27, 2026 | Settlement in principle. Both sides tell the court they have a deal to finalize |
| Feb. 2027 | Earliest ship date. The floor set in Welinder's declaration |
Four weeks earlier, on Jan. 19, OpenAI's own spokesman had called a 2026 unveiling "on track"11. The device's only confirmed date is now 2027, a full year past the day Welinder put his name on the filing.
The Filing That Buried a Name
iyO sued OpenAI, Sam Altman, Jony Ive and io Products on June 9, 202510. That was nine months before Welinder's declaration. The startup builds a screenless earpiece of its own, spun out of X, Google's lab for long-shot research projects. Court papers say OpenAI and Ive's studio held product demonstrations with iyO as early as 2022.
Before the suit, iyO had spent $60 million over seven years on its own screenless earpiece, the iyO One10. It argued that "io" and "iyO" sound close enough to confuse a buyer, and backed that claim with a consumer survey filed in court8. A judge agreed fast, issuing a restraining order on June 20, eleven days after the suit landed.
OpenAI pulled its launch video and every mention of "io" from its own site that week10. The company appealed to the Ninth Circuit, then kept fighting for ten more months.
Judge Trina Thompson sided with iyO again on April 24, 2026, barring OpenAI from the name outright8. iyO had added a new claim by then. It said Tang Tan, io's co-founder, carried confidential designs from a former iyO employee9. Thompson found that iyO "is likely to succeed on the merits of its Trademark Claim".
Both sides told the court on July 27 that they had reached a settlement in principle9. A seven-day pause followed, with dismissal due by Aug. 6. The hearing on the injunction itself then moved to Sept. 8.
From a Neck Pendant to a Desk Speaker
OpenAI bought Ive's design studio, io Products, for $6.5 billion on May 21, 20253. The deal was all stock. Sam Altman called the prototype he took home "the coolest piece of technology that the world will have ever seen," in the video OpenAI later pulled4.
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo described a different shape eight months before that filing. Kuo expected a screenless pendant, worn around the neck, "as compact and elegant as an iPod Shuffle"7.
The design kept moving after Kuo's report. Reporters at The Information wrote in February that the first product is shaping up as a stationary smart speaker6. It comes with a camera and a Face ID-style way to recognize who is talking.
OpenAI plans to price the speaker between $200 and $3006. A smart lamp and AI glasses sit behind it on OpenAI's own roadmap. Each arrives in 2028 at the earliest.
Evans Hankey leads the industrial design. Tang Tan and Scott Cannon, two more veterans of Apple's hardware teams, work alongside her.
Ive still makes most final design calls himself, and his studio, LoveFrom, stays apart from OpenAI's own engineers6. OpenAI staff have complained about LoveFrom's secrecy and its slow pace on design changes.
The Case for a New Kind of Device, and the Case Against
Altman made the broader case before Welinder's filing existed. Court records TechCrunch reviewed quote Altman telling OpenAI staff that "our intent with this collaboration was, and is, to create products that go beyond traditional products and interfaces"5.
Ben Lovejoy, who covers Apple and AI hardware for 9to5Mac, argues from a different kind of record. Lovejoy watched the Humane AI Pin and the Rabbit R1 both fail within two years of their launches2.
Lovejoy's own test is blunt: "If smartphones didn't exist, these devices would be enormously exciting, and I'd want one, despite their current limitations. But smartphones do exist, and I can't see a single reason why these devices aren't simply apps"2.
Lovejoy still expects to want OpenAI's device on sight. "I will be very surprised indeed if I end up buying one—and no less surprised if a significant number of other people do," he wrote in the same piece2.
OpenAI Prices Its Device Between Rabbit's $199 Flop and Humane's $699 One
Launch price for three AI hardware devices, in dollars, Humane 2023 and Rabbit 2024 against OpenAI's planned 2027 range
Each bar is one device's launch price. The gray bars are devices already on sale; the magenta bar is an estimate, the midpoint of OpenAI's planned $200 to $300 range, since the company has yet to confirm a final number.
Humane's Pin also required a $24 monthly subscription. Rabbit's R1 sold as a single payment. Whether OpenAI's device needs a subscription remains an open question.
Sources: MacRumors [6]; Liliputing [12]; Android Police [13]. Chart by Ryan Elliott Dennis.
The numbers behind this chart
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Humane AI Pin | $699 |
| OpenAI's device (estimate) | $250 |
| Rabbit R1 | $199 |
What to Do
Drop OpenAI's device from any 2026 budget or holiday rollout. The company's own filing rules that out before a single unit ships1.
Compare real prices already on the market. Humane's AI Pin launched at $699 plus $24 a month and folded within a year13. Rabbit's R1 launched at $199, a single payment, and still sells, modestly12.
Mark the Sept. 8 hearing on your calendar. That court date, ahead of any teaser video, will show whether the "io" fight actually ends9.
By the numbers
- $6.5 billion: OpenAI's all-stock purchase of Jony Ive's io Products, announced May 21, 20253.
- Feb. 9, 2026: the date OpenAI told a court its device needs until February 20271.
- $200 to $300: the price OpenAI is planning for its first smart speaker, per The Information6.
- $699: Humane's AI Pin at launch, plus a $24-a-month subscription13.
- $199: Rabbit's R1 at launch, paid once with zero monthly fee12.
- April 24, 2026: the date a judge barred OpenAI from the "io" name outright8.
- July 27, 2026: the date both sides told the court they had reached a settlement in principle9.
What to watch
The Sept. 8 hearing will show whether the iyO settlement actually holds, or whether OpenAI returns to court over the injunction9. Track The Information's smart-speaker account over Kuo's year-old necklace concept, since it carries OpenAI's current design67. A second product, the smart lamp, will test whether OpenAI can ship more than one hardware device after 2028.
Sources
- Ben Lovejoy, "Jony Ive's AI hardware is delayed to 2027 and won't be called io," 9to5Mac, Feb. 10, 2026, https://9to5mac.com/2026/02/10/jony-ives-ai-hardware-is-delayed-to-2027-and-wont-be-called-io/
- Ben Lovejoy, "As confusion reigns over Jony Ive's iO device, I remain an AI hardware skeptic," 9to5Mac, Jan. 23, 2026, https://9to5mac.com/2026/01/23/as-confusion-reigns-over-jony-ives-io-device-i-remain-an-ai-hardware-skeptic/
- Todd Spangler, "OpenAI Acquires AI Devices Company Founded by iPhone Designer Jony Ive for $6.5 Billion," Variety, May 21, 2025, https://variety.com/2025/digital/news/openai-acquires-io-iphone-designer-jony-ive-1236405936/
- The Standard Staff, "Let's break down that weird 9-minute Sam Altman and Jony Ive video," The San Francisco Standard, May 23, 2025, https://sfstandard.com/2025/05/23/sam-altman-jony-ive-video/
- Maxwell Zeff, "Court filings reveal OpenAI and io's early work on an AI device," TechCrunch, June 23, 2025, https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/23/court-filings-reveal-openai-and-ios-early-work-on-an-ai-device
- Juli Clover, "Jony Ive's First OpenAI Device Will Be Smart Speaker With Camera, 2027 Launch Planned," MacRumors, Feb. 20, 2026, https://www.macrumors.com/2026/02/20/jony-ive-openai-smart-speaker-2027/
- Joe Rossignol, "Kuo: Jony Ive's Futuristic OpenAI Device Like a Neck-Worn iPod Shuffle," MacRumors, May 22, 2025, https://www.macrumors.com/2025/05/22/ming-chi-kuo-on-openai-device-design/
- Marcus Mendes, "Court sides with iyO in trademark fight against OpenAI and Jony Ive," 9to5Mac, April 24, 2026, https://9to5mac.com/2026/04/24/court-sides-with-iyo-in-trademark-fight-against-openai-and-jony-ive/
- Marcus Mendes, "iyO's trademark lawsuit against OpenAI and Jony Ive paused over settlement talks," 9to5Mac, July 28, 2026, https://9to5mac.com/2026/07/28/iyos-trademark-lawsuit-against-openai-and-jony-ive-paused-over-settlement-talks/
- TFL, "OpenAI Quietly Pulls "io" Branding Amid Trademark Clash with Google Startup," The Fashion Law, June 25, 2025, https://www.thefashionlaw.com/openai-quietly-pulls-io-branding-amid-trademark-clash-with-google-startup/
- DH Web Desk, "OpenAI 'on track' to unveil AI hardware in late 2026; here's what to expect," Deccan Herald, Jan. 20, 2026, https://www.deccanherald.com/amp/story/technology/artificial-intelligence/openai-on-track-to-unveil-ai-hardware-in-late-2026-heres-what-to-expect-3868304
- Brad Linder, "Rabbit hopes its $199 handheld AI device succeeds where the Humane $699 Ai Pin fails," Liliputing, April 24, 2024, https://liliputing.com/rabbit-hopes-its-199-handheld-ai-device-succeeds-where-the-humane-699-ai-pin-fails/
- Dhruv Bhutani, "A status update on all the major AI gadgets released in 2024," Android Police, March 8, 2025, https://tech.yahoo.com/ai/articles/status-major-ai-gadgets-released-132118274.html