Pressure was building on Apple to release an AI-infused product even before it showed off Apple Intelligence at WWDC 2024. But as Gemini and ChatGPT make their way into more gadgets and Apple’s former design chief teams up with OpenAI on an AI device, expectations on Apple have never been greater. The company doesn’t just need an incrementally better Siri; it needs an AI-first device.
Is OpenAI’s Hardware a Threat to Apple?
In a slickly produced video announcing OpenAI’s acquisition of Jony Ive’s “io” startup, Sam Altman and Ive seemed to talk more about what their first product won’t be than what it will do. It’s not a pair of smart glasses or a smartwatch. Ive was also unimpressed by the Humane AI Pin and the Rabbit R1, so don’t expect an io gadget to resemble them, either.
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According to Altman’s hints and additional reporting from Chinese supply chain expert Ming-Chi Kuo, the OpenAI device will be a minimalistic, screenless blob, a little bit bigger than an iPod shuffle. It will have microphones and a camera and live on whatever tabletop you’re at—desk, kitchen table, nightstand, etc. To me, that sounds like a smart paperweight.
We also know this first device isn’t meant to supplant your iPhone or MacBook. It’s a new thing, an addition. That should be a little scary to Apple. It can only build a better product if it knows what’s coming. Being caught flat-footed is tough to recover from.
AI Hardware Is Ramping Up From All Companies
OpenAI isn’t the only company breathing down Apple’s neck. Meta is also trying to create a new computing paradigm shift with its Ray-Ban Smart Glasses. Quickly, the product has gone from being seen as “earbuds” and a “camera” to being an AI vision device that can whisper information into your ears. They can interpret what’s around you for sight and sound, including live language translation. Meta isn’t slowing down either.
Google is showing off its own Android XR smart glasses with an embedded screen to give you visual intelligence to go along with the auditory aspect. But, like Meta, Google’s glasses are mostly a vehicle for its AI technology.
Apple Doesn’t Have to Start From Zero
Apple fast-tracked Apple Intelligence for iOS 18 so it wouldn’t fall behind in perception or in practice, but Apple Intelligence has been largely panned and isn’t expected to feature prominently at WWDC 2025 this week. Still, Cupertino doesn’t have to start from zero in creating an AI-first gadget to keep up with OpenAI, Meta, or Google.
Apple already has the Apple Watch, a device about the size of an iPod shuffle with microphones, sensors, and a screen. To directly compete with OpenAI’s hardware ambitions, details of which aren’t expected to be announced until next year, Apple could fully revamp watchOS to be AI-first and utilize its hardware strengths to be a wearable AI assistant.
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It’s not hard to see how the watch could seamlessly transform into an AI companion to the iPhone: a second screen and input that’s always accessible on the wrist.
I’ve been using a product called the Plaud NotePin on and off for around six months. It’s a screenless device with microphones that listens to your conversations and uses AI to transcribe, summarize, create mind maps, or conform text to different templates. There’s not much to the product beyond the microphones and a Bluetooth connection, but it makes gathering conversations quicker and less obtrusive than doing it from my phone.
This is a role the Apple Watch could play and far exceed. The watch is easily accessible and always with you. It doesn’t need a whole lot of power because it’s sending the information to a phone where it’s being processed locally or in the cloud. Apple would just need to make the Apple Watch a better front end for its own AI model, or even third-party services like Google Gemini. There could be an option to re-program the side button as a first step.
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But what if you could toggle the Apple Watch to just listen as you went about your day? You could then go back and ask what time your child’s teacher said early dismissal would happen that week or when your boss needed that report. It could be your recall machine to remind you of things you might have missed or forgotten.
It could also help your future self too, alerting you to relevant information in real time. If you’re scheduling a meeting with someone in passing, it could prompt you that you already have that time blocked off on your schedule. It could remind you of special dinner events while you’re at the store and then suggest ingredients based on the needs of people who are coming.
This contextual awareness concept reminds me of the Siri watch face on the Series 3 in 2017. It was supposed to highlight calendar events, weather, and other data at relevant times. It was on the right track but was hindered by its limited information resources. I kept trying to use it, but it mostly left me feeling disappointed.
The Apple Watch’s new Live Activities widgets show hints of this ambition again. Sports scores will show up automatically for my favorite teams and be the primary view while the game is going on. Flight information will slide into view when I’m tracking my trip. Right now, however, I have to set all this up ahead of time with various apps.
A lot of the plumbing seems to be in place for the Apple Watch to be a wrist-worn device that proactively assists me throughout the day. The hardware is nearly there thanks to all-day battery life, good microphones, and increasingly bigger screen sizes. The only thing missing is the intelligence. The Apple Watch could absolutely curtail some of the hype around OpenAI’s hardware ambitions; Apple just has to want to make it happen.
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