Nothing to release first AI hardware next month, with no new screen
Pei says the device could not have been built as a phone app, and Nothing has shared little more about its design or price.
Nothing's chief executive Carl Pei has said the company will release its first AI-focused hardware product next month, roughly a year after he first outlined plans for AI-native devices and an AI operating system. He has disclosed little about the product beyond stating that it will have no new screen and could not have been delivered as a phone app. Pei argued that the industry is searching for a breakthrough consumer device for AI, and he rejected the idea that the search for an AI equivalent of the iPhone is a productive path. The announcement arrives as other screenless AI gadgets, including Humane's AI Pin and Friend, have had a mixed reception, and a recent rumor pointed to Nothing developing AI smart glasses.
Why it matters
The launch tests whether a screenless AI gadget can find buyers after the mixed reception of earlier devices such as Humane's AI Pin and Friend. Pei's view that the search for an AI equivalent of the iPhone is a dead end signals that Nothing is betting on a different kind of product rather than a direct successor to the smartphone. Readers tracking consumer AI hardware will learn from the launch whether a device with no screen can justify its place alongside the phone.
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