- OpenAI is working on it's first-ever hardware product and it will be an AI-powered earbuds.
- These earbuds are expected to arrive sometime this year followed by a more advanced version soon.
- OpenAI is speculated to call these hardware products as "Dime", currently they are referred as "Sweetpea" internally.
It looks like the first-ever hardware device from OpenAI is going to be AI-powered earbuds, running on top of its own AI model. Reports suggest that the product could arrive sometime this year, and here’s what we know about it so far.
OpenAI might launch its first AI-powered earbuds this year
OpenAI is working on an AI-powered hardware product to launch this year. Earlier, it was believed to be a small pendant or a pen, citing CEO Sam Altman’s claims to roll out a device that is more ‘peaceful’ and ‘calm.’ Even an AI-powered smartphone-like gadget was in the news; however, citing the increasingly high-bandwidth memory (HBM) BOM and shortage, OpenAI has delayed it until the situation improves.
Coming back to the earbuds, these carry the internal name “Sweetpea” and are likely to be officially named “Dime.” Unfortunately, we don’t have many details about the earbuds except that these will be OpenAI’s foothold in the hardware segment, and it will gather real-world usage data to refine customer experiences using, you guessed it right, AI.
According to Smart Pikachu (via IT Home), one of his friends caught the patent filed at China’s CNIPA with the product name “Dime” and a big US AI company operating in China, aka OpenAI. He further adds that the increasing HBM BOM prices triggered a response from OpenAI, opting for earbuds instead of a phone-like device. Furthermore, this is an audio-only version, with a more advanced version expected to arrive later when the component cost improves.
Why AI-powered earbuds, you might ask?
Well, for starters, earbuds are typically the first hardware choice for brands, be it Nothing or OnePlus. Since OpenAI aims to power these earbuds with the latest AI models, they could serve as the primary point of contact with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, eliminating the need to use your phone to search for information.
The earbuds could also sense user data, including health data, and recommend lifestyle, fitness, and usage habits. I am not sure if these will be FCC-approved earbuds, given that the certification is a long process and can incur exorbitant costs that ultimately land on the end user.
The AI-powered earbuds are likely to launch this year, although the timeline is still not available. Stay tuned at True-Tech to know when these earbuds could arrive and the specs they’ll bring on board.
