Sam Altman and Jony Ive Unveil Screenless AI Prototype Focused on Tactile Simplicity

The long-anticipated collaboration between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and legendary former Apple designer Sir Jony Ive is moving from concept to reality. The partners, who recently revealed they merged their specialized hardware team (io Products) into OpenAI, have completed a second working prototype of their mystery device. Speaking at a conference, they focused less on specifications and more on the device’s core philosophy: a completely new, screenless, and emotionally resonant way to interact with artificial intelligence.

The defining feature of the prototype is its rejection of the modern, noisy, screen-centric computing experience. Ive described the design as focusing on creating something "playful" and "simple," a device users can handle "almost carelessly" without the intimidation or anxiety associated with smartphones. This focus on tactile, intuitive design has led to the highly unusual commentary surrounding the hardware itself. Both Ive and Altman hinted that the device’s materiality—its shape, weight, and surface texture—is so compelling that users will feel an instinctive desire to touch, and yes, even lick or bite it. This attention to sensory detail reflects Ive’s philosophy of creating products that emotionally resonate and recede into the background of daily life.

Technologically, the device is designed to be the ultimate Ambient AI Companion. It integrates OpenAI's most advanced models, allowing the intelligence itself to carry the computational load. The device aims to eliminate the multiple steps currently required to access AI (opening an app, typing a prompt) by utilizing natural inputs like voice and gesture. It is designed to be contextually aware of the user's surroundings, calendar, and ongoing conversations, effectively making the powerful capabilities of a large language model (LLM) an effortless, seamless presence. The ultimate goal, as stated by Altman, is to create a device that knows practically everything about the user and their environment without relying on a conventional display.

The ambitious project, which Altman suggests could be released in "less than two years," aims to ship over 100 million AI companions and establish itself as the third essential consumer device, alongside the iPhone and MacBook. The merger of Ive's design expertise with OpenAI's frontier AI research represents a massive bet on a post-smartphone future, where human interaction with technology is defined by simplicity and physical intuition, not glowing screens.