OpenAI smartphone likely to launch in 2027: Check specs details

OpenAI is developing a smartphone designed to compete with the iPhone, according to supply chain findings published in late April by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, and the timeline has already accelerated once. Originally expected to reach mass production in 2028, the device is now believed to be on track for the first half of 2027, with projected combined shipments of around 30 million units across 2027 and 2028 if development holds.

Kuo states that the gadget will be a "phone for an AI agent", featuring a persistent, contextualised user interface instead of specific applications. The logic behind this approach is that only smartphones equipped with a sensor capable of gathering location, activity, communications, and real-time contextual data simultaneously will be able to perform AI agent reasoning.

In order to provide this type of integrated product experience, OpenAI must control both the hardware and the software platform, according to Kuo.

OpenAI smartphone specs (expected)

Reportedly, the device is expected to operate using a modified Dimensity 9600 chip developed by MediaTek, using TSMC's N2P technology, with plans to launch the same in the second half of 2026. Although Kuo had initially mentioned both MediaTek and Qualcomm as possible chipmakers, he later revealed that MediaTek had a better chance of being the sole supplier.

Luxshare Precision Industry appears to be the single manufacturer of the phone. It is reported to come with two AI processors for parallel processing of vision and language tasks, a camera unit possibly supplied by Sunny Optical, and an advanced HDR system in its ISP for better perception of the world.

However, the acquisition of Apple's competitor, the company IO Products, founded by Jony Ive, valued at $6.5 billion in May 2025, was accompanied by assurances by both Ive and OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, that neither had any intention of developing a device with a display screen.

The first device as the result of the collaboration has been named a smart speaker with a camera priced somewhere between $200 and $300 and will likely not be introduced until the first quarter of 2027.

The new startup has recruited 40 Apple staff members so far, including designers Evans Hankey, Tang Tan, and Scott Cannon. This prompted the tech giant Apple to provide its iPhone product design team with retention bonuses valued at up to four hundred thousand dollars in restricted stock units.