Report says OpenAI is working on a ChatGPT phone for 2027

In short: A new report says OpenAI is planning a phone built around ChatGPT, with mass production possibly starting in early 2027.

What happened

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, may be preparing its first piece of consumer hardware, and it could be a smartphone. The information comes from supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, as reported by MacRumors and covered by The Verge.

Kuo said the phone is being “fast-tracked” and that OpenAI is aiming to begin mass production in early 2027. Mass production means building the device at large scale, like when a car model moves from a few test units to full factory output.

According to Kuo, the phone would use a customized version of a MediaTek Dimensity 9600 chip. A chip is the phone’s main brain. Kuo also highlighted the phone’s image signal processor, which is the part that helps the phone process what the camera captures, like doing quick cleanups so images look right. He said it would have “enhanced HDR,” which usually means handling bright and dark areas better in photos and video.

Kuo also mentioned other parts that suggest on-device AI features, including a “dual-NPU architecture.” An NPU is a chip part designed for AI tasks (like a helper engine for things such as language and image understanding). He estimated combined shipments in 2027 and 2028 could reach about 30 million units.

Why it matters

If the report is accurate, OpenAI would be moving from software to selling a physical device, and it would be competing directly with major phone makers. For everyday users, the big question is whether a ChatGPT-focused phone would make AI features feel more built-in and more reliable than using a separate app.

Source: The Verge AI