When Jony Ive and Sam Altman teased their upcoming AI hardware device, we noted how mysterious they were being about its form factor.
While some were suggesting that it was a wearable, I said I felt pretty sure it wasn’t, and that’s now been confirmed by a court filing. A 9to5Mac reader last month made a plausible suggestion, and the latest development seems to me to add weight to the idea …
What we knew before the court filing
Both Ive and Altman had long made it clear their device wasn’t a phone. It would have been pretty astonishing to see the ex-designer of the iPhone decide to go head-to-head with Apple on that, so that was no surprise.
Speculation had turned to smart glasses, which seem to be gradually emerging as the favourite for the next hardware device to gain traction. However, Altman specifically ruled that out.
The teaser video deliberately revealed almost nothing, but did suggest it was a completely new AI hardware form never seen before. As I said at the time, that ruled out a badge, a smartwatch, a smart ring, or in-ear headphones.
Ming-Chi Kuo suggested it was a pendant, but that seemed unlikely to me.
The video makes the claim that they really are creating something(s) genuinely new. Honestly, if you say all that and then launch a watch or a pendant, the internet is going to come down on you so hard …
A wearable has now been ruled out
Court documents revealed yesterday specifically say that the device is not a wearable.
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