OpenAI is reportedly preparing its first consumer hardware, and it is not a phone, a pin, or a pair of glasses. Multiple leaks point to AI-powered earbuds as the company’s debut device, a bet that the ear will be the most natural place to live with an assistant that talks back. If the reports are accurate, OpenAI is about to challenge Apple’s AirPods and other wearables with a product that treats conversation, not screens, as the primary interface.
The move would mark a shift from OpenAI’s role as a software layer inside other people’s gadgets to a company that owns the full experience, from silicon to cloud. It also raises a bigger question: what happens when a San Francisco AI lab decides your next pair of earbuds should be as central to your life as your smartphone?
From phone dreams to Dime and Sweetpea
The clearest signal of OpenAI’s new direction is a cluster of reports that its first device will be AI-powered earbuds, not a handset. One detailed leak describes a project codenamed Dime, positioned as the company’s opening move in consumer hardware after shelving an earlier phone concept due to cost and complexity. Another report frames these earbuds as OpenAI’s debut hardware, again highlighting Dime as the internal codename and noting that the Company has shifted away from a more ambitious device that would have been harder to mass produce, a change that is presented as a pragmatic strategy shift in Highlights.
Alongside Dime, there is a second codename in circulation: Sweetpea. Reporting on Sweetpea describes a pair of AI earbuds that would sit alongside a Titan ASIC Launching By The End Of The Year, with the Earbuds To Use Samsung 2 nm Exynos Chip as their core processor. The same leak says OpenAI’s products would soon include both this Titan ASIC and AI earbuds branded as Sweetpea, suggesting that Dime and Sweetpea may refer to different stages or variants of the same broader effort rather than unrelated gadgets.
A largely audio-based device on a 2026 timeline
OpenAI has not confirmed the earbuds directly, but it has started to sketch the contours of its first device in public. The company’s policy chief, Chris Lehane, said earlier this year that OpenAI is “on track” to unveil its first device in the second half of 2026 and described it as a largely audio-based hardware product. That description lines up neatly with the idea of earbuds that lean on voice, ambient listening, and spoken responses instead of a screen. It also fits with the broader narrative that OpenAI is trying to move ChatGPT-style assistants out of the browser and into something you can wear all day.
Separate reporting reinforces that the first product is likely to be Powered Earbuds rather than a more experimental form factor. One account says OpenAI is preparing to launch its first hardware product as an AI accessory that sits in the ear, and explicitly calls out that these Powered Earbuds are expected to arrive in 2026 as the company’s opening hardware move, a detail that is echoed in Feb. Another report describes OpenAI as a San Francisco based artificial intelligence company that might venture into AI-enabled earbuds as its first hardware, again pointing to a 2026 window and positioning the product as a way to bring its models closer to everyday life for users in San Francisco and beyond.
Inside the earbuds: chips, factories, and supply chains
Under the hood, the rumored earbuds look less like a simple audio accessory and more like a tiny AI computer. The Sweetpea leaks specify that the Earbuds To Use Samsung 2 nm Exynos Chip, a cutting edge mobile processor that would give the device enough horsepower for on-device inference and low latency responses, while a separate Titan ASIC Launching By The End Of The Year would handle heavier workloads in the cloud. Pairing a 2 nm Exynos Chip with a dedicated Titan ASIC suggests OpenAI wants tight control over both the client hardware and the server side silicon that runs its models, rather than relying entirely on third party chips.
The production story is just as telling. One report says Manufacturing has shifted from Luxshare to Foxconn, with assembly reportedly based in Vietnam to avoid Chinese supply chains, a move that would align OpenAI with other companies trying to diversify away from mainland factories for geopolitical and logistical reasons, as detailed in Manufacturing. That same reporting frames the earbuds as a direct attempt to challenge AirPods in 2026, which would explain the decision to work with Foxconn, a long time Apple partner, and to base production in Vietnam where many recent iPhone and AirPods lines have moved.
Why the ear is OpenAI’s next interface
Beyond the specs, the strategic bet is on the ear as the primary gateway to AI. One analysis argues that the under reported angle is not that OpenAI is making another gadget, but that it is choosing the ear as the main interface for its assistant, treating the earbuds as a way to bypass third party hardware and operating systems that currently mediate most AI interactions, a point made explicitly in Feb. In that framing, the earbuds are less about audio quality and more about persistent presence: a voice that can whisper directions, summarize a meeting, or translate a conversation without you ever pulling out a phone.
Video explainers have picked up on the same theme. One breakdown of OpenAI’s hardware plans describes a mysterious new AI device that could actually make you happier instead of more distracted, and situates it in a broader push to create screenless companions that feel more like a coach or co pilot than an app, a narrative that surfaces in Nov. Another short clip says that internally the project is said to be code name Sweet P, and that the idea is for these earbuds to take on Apple’s AirPods head on, with a focus on conversational AI that can live in your ear all day, a comparison drawn directly to Apple. Taken together, these accounts suggest OpenAI sees the ear as the most intimate and least intrusive place to embed its models, a way to make AI feel like a constant presence rather than a destination you visit.
How earbuds fit into a broader hardware roadmap
The earbuds are not the only hardware OpenAI is reportedly exploring, but they appear to be the first to reach the finish line. One roundup of internal projects says OpenAI has at least four AI powered products in development, including a pin, a pen, glasses, and a desktop speaker, with The Informatio cited as the source for those codenames and concepts in Jan. In that context, Dime and Sweetpea look like the most straightforward product to ship first, a relatively familiar form factor that can still showcase OpenAI’s models while the more experimental pin, pen, and glasses continue to evolve.
Leaked timelines suggest the company may be deliberately sequencing its launches. One report says a new tip indicates OpenAI’s rumored earbuds will be revealed ahead of a more advanced device that has been delayed due to component shortages, and that the company may turn on a Dime when it comes to its hardware plans by using these earbuds to establish a foothold in the market before moving on to more ambitious products, a strategy described in Instead. Another account characterizes the first earbuds as a way to make OpenAI’s long rumoured move into consumer hardware more accessible than previously thought, with a new leak suggesting that OpenAI’s first consumer hardware could be AI powered earbuds codenamed Dime, a detail that aligns with Dime.
