Altman declined to answer a question about what exactly OpenAI is building, but said the company is targeting a calmer “vibe” with its hardware versus smartphones, which he compared to walking through Times Square.

“You can then go for a vibe that is not like walking through Times Square and getting bumped into and having all this stuff compete for your attention,” Altman said. “But, like, sitting in the most beautiful cabin by a lake and in the mountains and sort of just enjoying the peace and calm.”

He said a smart AI device will be able to do things for the user over long periods of time, filter things out and understand when something is important enough to notify the user. Altman added that the device will be able to “know everything you’ve ever thought about, read, said.”

That’s snag number one. Snag number two is that the company now has a new timeline for the release of its first piece of hardware, and it’s a bit further out than we had anticipated. According to Wired, Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s now nameless company will not start shipping its first gadget until February of 2027. The Information and Axios have reported that OpenAI could unveil its devices as soon as this year. As a result, the projected unveiling of the device by the second half of this year is now uncertain, though the company might still have something to show by then.

I say “might” because it’s really hard to tell just how far along any of this stuff is. Reports last year of difficulties getting devices to do basic stuff aren’t instilling much confidence. According to a report from the Financial Times, Sam Altman and Jony Ive are struggling to actually muster the computing power to enable their computer(s) to, um, compute. On top of that, they’re struggling to get their voice assistant (which apparently is supposed to be listening all the time) to function in a way that makes the device usable. One problem in particular has reportedly been getting the voice assistant to listen when you want it to and shut up when appropriate.

The FT now says that OpenAI and Ive aim to create “a palm-sized device without a screen that can take audio and visual cues from the physical environment and respond to users’ requests.” But unresolved issues around the device’s “personality,” how it handles privacy, and computing infrastructure might delay the launch.

For example, one source told the FT that rather than waiting for a specific verbal prompt, the device would take an “always on” approach — but the team has reportedly struggled to ensure it only speaks up when useful and ends its conversations at the appropriate time.