The latest report from well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo states that OpenAI is accelerating the research and development of its first "AI agent phone", with internal goals to complete mass production preparations as early as the first half of next year. The mass production time node of the entire machine has been significantly advanced from the previously expected 2028 to the first half of 2027. Ming-Chi Kuo said that this device is regarded as OpenAI’s key product in the hardware field and will directly compete with existing smartphones.
According to its supply chain research, OpenAI has previously selected MediaTek and Qualcomm as chip partners, while Luxshare Precision serves as the exclusive foundry. The latest research and judgment believes that MediaTek "has a greater chance of becoming the only processor supplier." OpenAI plans to use a deeply customized processor based on Dimensity 9600, which is expected to be manufactured by TSMC using the N2P process node in the second half of 2026.
In terms of configuration planning, the "main specification" of this AI phone is said to be its image signal processor (ISP), which will be deeply customized around the enhanced HDR processing process to improve the device's "perception" of the real world, allowing AI to better understand the environment through the camera. At the same time, the whole machine will be equipped with two AI processors, each responsible for different types of tasks (such as visual and language parallel processing), coupled with high-speed memory and storage, as well as a security design for isolating different processes to support core AI computing and privacy protection requirements.
From a commercial perspective, the reason why OpenAI has advanced its mass production target to the first half of 2027 is considered to be closely related to the pace of its preparations for an initial public offering (IPO). Ming-Chi Kuo analyzed that a representative hardware product that can demonstrate complete AI capabilities will help tell a more attractive growth story in the capital market. In addition, the recent intensification of competition on the AI smart phone track is also one of the important reasons for OpenAI to promote the hardware rhythm.
Ming-Chi Kuo estimates that if research and development and mass production progress smoothly, the total shipment volume of OpenAI AI mobile phones is expected to reach approximately 30 million units between 2027 and 2028. He believes that to truly implement a complete AI agent service system, enterprises must control both the operating system and the hardware platform, and the two must be deeply integrated to open up enough space for AI at the level of interaction mode and system architecture. In his vision, AI agents will reshape the way users interact with mobile phones - people will no longer operate around independent apps, but will directly "hand over tasks" in an environment with context understanding capabilities.
However, this mobile phone plan also casts doubts on the prospects of the “non-mobile phone AI devices” led by Jony Ive. In May 2025, after OpenAI acquired Ive's startup io Products, it promoted its first hardware prototype with great fanfare, saying it would become the "third core device" after MacBook Pro and iPhone, and was rendered by CEO Sam Altman as "will be the coolest technology product the world has ever seen." At that time, OpenAI emphasized that this device would not be equipped with a screen. One of the reasons is that "mobile phones already have screens, and they hope to gradually wean people away from dependence on screens."
Originally, the AI device headed by Ive was scheduled to be released this year, but in November 2025, the product roadmap was pushed back to "less than two years later." The latest news shows that the product form has been clearly defined as a smart speaker with a camera, which is expected to be launched in early 2027. This means that there may be some overlap in time between AI phones and screenless AI devices. It is still unclear how OpenAI internally positions the relationship between the two.
In addition to mobile phones and smart speakers, the report also quoted news that OpenAI is also planning a variety of hardware, including smart glasses, smart desk lamps and possible headphones, but the release schedule for these products is relatively late. Once the above-mentioned devices are launched one after another, OpenAI will directly compete with Apple in multiple categories, including smart glasses, AirPods with cameras, AI pendants, and smart home hubs equipped with enhanced Siri capabilities. The latter are currently on Apple's rumored development list.
Overall, OpenAI’s accelerated AI mobile phone plan is not only an attempt to implement its own AI technology in hardware, but also reflects the evolution trend of the smartphone industry towards “AI integrated terminals”. With the joint promotion of Apple, OpenAI and other parties, the device form and interaction paradigm surrounding "AI intelligent agents" will become one of the key highlights of the global consumer electronics market in the next few years.