OpenAI’s reported AI phone would take its hardware plans straight at the iPhone

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OpenAI’s hardware plans may go far beyond an AI speaker. Supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says the company is working on a smartphone, with mass production planned for 2028.

Kuo says MediaTek and Qualcomm have been chosen as chip partners, while Luxshare Precision Industry is expected to be the exclusive manufacturer. Final chip details and other suppliers are reportedly expected by late 2026 or early 2027.

Why OpenAI may want a phone

The report matters because a phone gives AI agents the one thing they need most: real-time context. A smartphone already knows a user’s location, activity, communication, apps, sensors, and daily patterns. That makes it a much stronger base for an assistant that can act across services instead of only answering questions inside an app.

That may explain why OpenAI would want deeper control over hardware and software. A third-party ChatGPT app on iOS or Android can only reach so far. An AI-first phone would need access to system controls, notifications, permissions, and app actions if it wants to complete tasks with less manual input from the user.

Also read: OpenAI’s GPT-5.5 upgrade pushes ChatGPT further into real work

The harder fight is Apple’s territory

The phone report also shifts the story around OpenAI’s work with Jony Ive, whose startup, io Products, was acquired by OpenAI for $6.5 billion. Earlier reports pointed to non-phone devices, including a smart speaker, smart glasses, a smart lamp, and possibly earbuds. OpenAI Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane has said the company’s first hardware announcement is expected in the second half of 2026, with a launch around early 2027.

A phone would be a much harder move. It would put OpenAI against Apple’s iPhone, iOS, App Store, privacy pitch, and years of user trust. OpenAI would also need to avoid the trap that caught earlier phone challengers like Facebook and Amazon: a new device needs more than a famous name. It needs a real reason for people to switch.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman added fuel to the idea on the same day as Kuo’s report, posting that it “feels like a good time to seriously rethink how operating systems and user interfaces are designed.” He did not confirm a phone, but the point fits the larger question: if AI agents become central to computing, the current app-based phone interface may start to feel limiting.

feels like a good time to seriously rethink how operating systems and user interfaces are designed

(also the internet; there should be a protocol that is equally usable by people and agents)

— Sam Altman (@sama) April 26, 2026

For now, this is still an early supply chain report about a product that may not arrive until 2028. But it gives OpenAI’s hardware strategy a sharper shape. The company may not only be building AI companion devices. It may be exploring the main device layer where AI agents would actually live.

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