"J.A.R.V.I.S." Countdown: Tech Giants Compete in Smart Hardware, Is "Conversational AI" the Ultimate Goal of Artificial Intelligence?

1. What happened? Tech giants are rushing toward “screenless interaction”

1. OpenAI’s “Hardware Ambitions”:

In February 2026, a major report by The Information revealed the start of an AI hardware competition: OpenAI has secretly assembled a dedicated hardware R&D team of over 200 people, fully entering the consumer AI device market. This team’s impressive lineup is akin to an “Apple alumni club”—led by LoveFrom, the design firm founded by former Apple Chief Design Officer Jony Ive, and includes more than twenty core hardware engineers recruited from Apple, covering the entire chain from AirPods audio architecture to Apple Watch miniaturization processes.

Key move: OpenAI plans to showcase its first hardware in 2026 and officially launch it in 2027—a smart speaker with “environment sensing” capabilities. Following that are AI smart glasses and AI office audio devices (codenamed “Sweetpea”).

Sam Altman’s assessment: Altman has repeatedly stated publicly that the ultimate form of AI should not be a chat box trapped inside a mobile app, but a “physical entity” that can listen, see, and respond at any time. The purpose of building such a large hardware team is to break the monopoly of phone manufacturers on AI access and directly define the “voice-native” interaction standard.

2. The global giants’ “entry war”:

Apple: is fully revamping Siri. The desktop companion robot and wall-mounted AI control center expected in 2026 mark Apple’s attempt to leverage privacy advantages at the device edge, turning AI into an “invisible butler” in the home. Additionally, according to Bloomberg, Apple plans to release Apple Glasses by the end of 2026, positioning them as an accessory similar to the Apple Watch for the iPhone, focusing on Siri and AI smart experiences.

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