OpenAI's reported first gadget and the curious history of a sailor's word

OpenAI is preparing its first hardware gadget: a doughnut-shaped, hockey-puck-sized smart speaker with moving parts, according to reports. The device is expected to cost between $300 and $400 and is slated for release in 2027, though the company has not officially confirmed the design, the price, or even the product's name. The word "gadget" itself has an unlikely history. It probably began as nautical slang in the mid-1800s, used by sailors as a placeholder term for objects whose names escaped them, according to etymological accounts. Today it covers everything from small, playful technical tools — as German usage defines it — to the media franchise Inspector Gadget, which began with an animated series produced by DIC Entertainment in 1983. The reported speaker matters because it would mark OpenAI's move from software into consumer hardware, a step with significant implications for how people interact with artificial intelligence at home. Until the company confirms details, however, the reports remain unverified.

OpenAI's first gadget: a doughnut-shaped speaker reported for 2027

OpenAI, the company best known for its software, is reported to be developing its first hardware product: a smart speaker shaped like a doughnut and roughly the size of a hockey puck, with moving parts. That description, along with everything else known about the device, comes from reports rather than any official announcement. The speaker is expected to be priced between $300 and $400, according to those reports, and is slated for release in 2027.

None of this is confirmed. The product has no publicly known name, and neither its design nor its price has been verified by OpenAI. Readers should treat the shape, the cost and the timing as provisional.

If the reports prove accurate, the move would mark a significant shift for OpenAI. The company has built its reputation on artificial intelligence software, not physical consumer products. Releasing a gadget would put it into direct competition in the smart speaker market, where the device itself becomes the delivery mechanism for its technology.

From sailors' slang to smart speakers: where the word came from

A gadget, in current English usage, is a mechanical device or an ingenious article — the kind of thing sometimes called a gizmo. German usage is more specific: there, a gadget is a small, portable technical tool or device marked by novel functionality or distinctive design, often blending practical use with a certain playfulness.

Where the word itself came from is less certain. According to Wikipedia, it likely began as nautical slang in the mid-1800s, used by sailors as a placeholder term for objects whose names they could not recall. That etymology is plausible but unconfirmed, and it should be treated as such.

Just as unclear is when the word made the jump from a sailor's catch-all to its modern meaning of a small technical device. No source consulted pins down that transition, and it remains an open question.

1. mid-1800s

   The word gadget likely originated as nautical slang used by sailors as a placeholder term.

2. 1983

   The Inspector Gadget media franchise began with an animated television series produced by DIC Entertainment.

3. 2023

   Stuff magazine named its gadget of the year as the top prize of the Stuff Gadget Awards.

4. 2027

   OpenAI's doughnut-shaped smart speaker, expected to cost $300 to $400, is slated for release.

Inspector Gadget, the franchise that made the word famous

The most famous pop-culture use of the word belongs to a bumbling cyborg detective. Inspector Gadget began in 1983 as an animated television series produced by DIC Entertainment, and it embedded the term in the minds of a generation of viewers.

The franchise did not stop there. It grew into a wider media property encompassing spin-off animated series, video games and films, keeping the character in circulation for decades after the original show aired.

Available reporting does not establish when those spin-offs, games and films appeared, so their chronology cannot be pinned down here. What is clear is the scale of the expansion: from a single cartoon, Inspector Gadget became a multi-format franchise and, in doing so, arguably did more than any dictionary to popularise the word itself.

What gadgets cost to fix — and the strange ones worth watching

Owning a gadget is one thing; keeping it working is another. According to data cited from Comparison Creator, repairing a cracked screen on an iPhone 16 costs an average of £289 — a reminder that the true price of a device often extends well beyond the checkout. It is worth treating that figure with some caution: when the data was collected, and whether it applies to a specific region, has not been confirmed.

At the more unusual end of the market sits the uKeg Nitro. Reports describe it as a cold-brew coffee maker that uses a pressurisation system to infuse coffee with nitrogen, keeping it chilled for weeks at a time. Its release date and price, however, remain unconfirmed, so for now it stands as an intriguing claim rather than a verified product — much like several of the devices in this story.

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