Nothing to launch first AI device without a screen in December

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 5 Nov, 17:21 · Archive

Nothing's CEO Carl Pei announced the company is releasing its first AI-native product in December, a screenless device designed as a productivity tool.

Nothing CEO Carl Pei announced on X that the company is launching its first AI-native product in December. The device will have no screen and cannot function as an app, according to Pei's description. He characterised it as a tool built with the personality and care that define Nothing products, designed to deliver productivity gains.

Pei said the company has been teasing AI-focused devices for some time. Nothing has also announced plans to release AI-linked smart glasses and earbuds with AI integrations. The announcement adds to a wave of companies developing screen-free AI gadgets, following devices such as the Humane AI pin and the Friend, with OpenAI also reportedly working on an AI smart speaker with designer Jony Ive.

In his post, Pei suggested many companies are pursuing the wrong approach. He wrote that the whole industry is hunting for its 'iPhone moment' with devices such as pendants, pins, glasses and companions, but that he reads the moment differently. He pointed to the original iPhone, which arrived only after 30 years of work on mobile devices beginning with pagers.

Pei argued that AI devices will initially arrive with specific productivity uses before any breakthrough consumer device emerges. He wrote that the real opportunity lies in tools people use to get things done in their jobs. When the iPhone of AI does eventually arrive in a few years, Pei suggested, it will be built on that work rather than appearing as a sudden innovation.

How it is being reported

• Nothing says it is making an 'AI-first' device to help artificial intelligence have its iPhone momentCEO says that consumer tech companies are confused about how exactly AI will come into our livesIndependent Tech · 5 Nov, 17:12
• Nothing CEO says company’s mysterious AI-first device is dropping next monthWhile it's not yet clear what kind of product the smart phone startup is cooking up, Nothing's CEO said that product is designed to leverage AI for productivity gains.TechCrunch · 4 Nov, 22:13
• Nothing teases a screen-free AI device ahead of launch next monthNothing CEO Carl Pei said in a post on X that the company's launching its first AI device in December. That's just a little over a year after Pei announced plans for "AI-native" devices and an AI operating system. He didn't give away much about what exactly the new device is, only that one feature […]The Verge · 4 Nov, 18:26

In this story: Nothing · Carl Pei · OpenAI · Jony Ive · Apple

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