OpenAI Readies Gumdrop Pen Ahead of Smartphone Launch

OpenAI has revealed details of its first physical product. Before the previously announced screenless speaker reaches the market, Sam Altman's company plans to launch a pen codenamed Gumdrop, designed together with former Apple design chief Jony Ive.

What Gumdrop Reveals

According to reports cited by rp.pl, Gumdrop is meant to be an "elegantly simple" and "playful" device, an alternative to the notification chaos that Jony Ive compared to "Times Square" on a smartphone screen. The pen is designed to be context-aware, unobtrusive, and ready for instant use, without needing to unlock a screen or open an app.

The design is led by Sam Altman, Jony Ive, io co-founder Tang Tan, and researcher Kundan Kumar, formerly of Character.AI. The team largely comes from the acquired startup io, which OpenAI bought in 2026 for about $6.4 billion in an all-stock deal. Around 55 engineers joined OpenAI at the time, including some former Apple employees who had previously worked on the iPhone and Mac.

As great as phones and computers are, there's something new to be done - Sam Altman, OpenAI

We don't have an easy relationship with our technology today - Jony Ive, designer, former Apple design chief

Pen Before Speaker

Until now, OpenAI has mainly been associated with the announced portable screenless speaker, whose launch the company pushed back to 2027. New information suggests the order of the hardware rollout will differ from what was previously assumed: the Gumdrop pen is set to go on sale first, with the speaker following in a second phase, a device meant to move on its own thanks to mechanical components and be equipped with a camera and additional environmental sensors.

The speaker, described by Bloomberg as one of roughly five physical products currently in development at OpenAI, is meant to serve as a "human AI companion": a device that learns its owner's habits, has access to their email, and over time develops something resembling a personality. The company has not yet disclosed a price or a final launch date for the product.

Under the Shadow of an Apple Lawsuit

OpenAI's plans are unfolding under the shadow of a lawsuit filed by Apple, which accuses the company of stealing trade secrets while designing devices meant to compete with the iPhone. OpenAI denies the allegations, arguing that its new hardware "differs significantly from anything Apple currently has on the market." The fact that the project is led by Jony Ive, the designer behind the look of the iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Air, further fuels the dispute over how much of Apple's know-how came with him to OpenAI.

In the background, work is also underway on a far more ambitious goal: a mobile device meant to eventually replace the smartphone. According to earlier reports, OpenAI has accelerated its timeline and plans to begin mass production of its first phone built on its own system as early as the first half of 2027, a year earlier than originally planned.

What This Means for the Market

For Polish businesses and users, what matters most is the scale of OpenAI's ambition. A company that built its position on software is now steadily building a full hardware product line from the ground up, from pen to speaker to phone. It's a sign that competition for a place in users' pockets and on their desks will no longer be limited to Apple, Google, and Samsung.

None of the launch dates have been officially confirmed by OpenAI, and the reports are based on information from people familiar with the project, cited by Bloomberg and local tech media. The price of the Gumdrop pen has not been disclosed, though some outlets estimate it at $400-600, close to earlier speculation about the speaker's price range of $200-300.