Imagine you are trying to understand whether the next major AI product will live inside an app or inside a device of its own. OpenAI has not publicly announced an OpenAI phone, but public reports say the company is exploring an AI-focused smartphone project. That matters because a phone is not a niche gadget. It is a daily tool for communication, work, payments, navigation, media, and personal information.
The reported project concerns OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, and potential hardware and chip partners. Reuters reported that analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said OpenAI is working with MediaTek and Qualcomm on smartphone processors, with Luxshare named as the exclusive system design and manufacturing partner. OpenAI has separately confirmed that the team from io Products, Inc., the company associated with Jony Ive, merged with OpenAI in July 2025, while Ive and LoveFrom kept independent roles with design and creative responsibilities across OpenAI.
The reported phone fits into a broader push toward consumer AI hardware. Axios reported in January 2026 that OpenAI chief global affairs officer Chris Lehane said the company was on track to unveil its first device in the second half of 2026, although that report did not describe the product as a phone. Reuters reported that the smartphone project could enter mass production in 2028. Public sources do not clearly confirm that OpenAI has finalized specifications, pricing, markets, or a launch date for a phone.
In practice, the reported idea is to make a smartphone built around AI rather than simply adding an AI app to an existing handset. TechCrunch reported that Kuo described a device intended to understand user context, use a mix of smaller on-device models and cloud models, and support tasks through AI agents. A useful analogy is that the phone would be less like a notebook on a desk and more like an assistant standing beside the desk, waiting to help with the next task. Public sources do not clearly confirm whether the reported phone would include a feature called “Hero Frame.”
What comes next is verification. The most reliable step for readers is to watch for an official OpenAI announcement, because current public information is based largely on reporting and analyst commentary. For now, the confirmed fact is that OpenAI has expanded its hardware ambitions through the io Products merger, while the phone itself remains a reported project rather than an announced product.