The AI Hardware Wars Heat Up: Google’s Glasses, OpenAI’s Mystery Device, and the Race to Replace Your Phone

From XR to Pocketable AI: The Divergent Visions

Google’s I/O keynote dropped a bombshell: Android XR glasses, developed with fashion giants Gentle Monster and Warby Parker, are real—and demo units are circulating. Meanwhile, OpenAI made an even bigger splash, acquiring Jony Ive’s AI hardware startup for $6.5 billion. Sam Altman’s cryptic teases suggest a device poised to disrupt tech like the iPhone did in 2007. But unlike Google’s face-worn approach, OpenAI’s prototype is decidedly not glasses. Or a phone. Or anything with a screen.

“It’s part of a family of devices,” Altman said, hinting at a modular ecosystem. “Think pocketable. Or desk-friendly.”

The Form Factor Experiment

AI hardware is in its Wild West phase. Google bets on augmented reality glasses, Humane pushed the AI Pin, and now OpenAI’s mystery gadget—reportedly slightly larger than the Pin but iPod Shuffle-sized—joins the fray. Sources describe it as a hybrid of the Plaud Note’s minimalist design and the AI Pin’s functionality, packing cameras, mics, and seamless smartphone/computer sync. The goal? Multimodal AI that’s always present but never obtrusive.

Timelines are fuzzy, but insiders peg a late 2026 or 2027 launch. The ambiguity is strategic: let rivals like Meta and Google scramble while OpenAI refines its vision. One thing’s clear—the post-smartphone era won’t be won by a single device. It’ll be a war of ecosystems, and the battlefield is your pockets, wrists, and face.