OpenAI’s expensive smart speaker will use moving parts to seem “more alive”
OpenAI’s expensive smart speaker will use moving parts to seem “more alive”
OpenAI 昂贵的智能音箱将采用可动部件，旨在让设备看起来“更有生命力”
OpenAI’s upcoming smart speaker will probably cost over $300, “people familiar with the matter” have told Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. The generative AI company has “discussed” charging up to $400, Bloomberg, which has been reporting on the yet-to-be-announced smart speaker since July, said today. The publication said that OpenAI is viewing the smart speaker as a smartphone replacement. OpenAI has declined to comment on its product roadmap.
据彭博社马克·古尔曼（Mark Gurman）援引“知情人士”的消息称，OpenAI 即将推出的智能音箱售价可能超过 300 美元。自 7 月以来一直跟踪报道这款尚未发布音箱的彭博社今日表示，这家生成式 AI 公司已“讨论”过最高 400 美元的定价。该媒体称，OpenAI 将这款智能音箱视为智能手机的替代品。OpenAI 拒绝就其产品路线图发表评论。
Per Bloomberg, the speaker will follow in the steps of other smart speakers lately in pushing an AI-first focus aimed at helping people complete tasks, compared to simpler smart speaker tasks, like checking the weather. The battery-powered gadget will reportedly “work similarly” to the ChatGPT voice mode on mobile apps “but with more advanced models for humanlike interactivity,” Bloomberg said. The device will be able to control smart home devices too, the publication previously reported.
据彭博社报道，这款音箱将追随近期其他智能音箱的步伐，主打“AI 优先”理念，旨在帮助用户完成任务，而非仅仅处理查询天气等简单的智能音箱任务。据称，这款电池供电的设备在功能上将与移动端 ChatGPT 的语音模式“类似”，但会“采用更先进的模型以实现类人的交互体验”。该媒体此前还报道称，该设备将具备控制智能家居的功能。
OpenAI’s speaker will “be shaped like a doughnut that’s roughly the size of a hockey puck,” Bloomberg said today, citing its anonymous sources. Additionally, the device will reportedly have parts that will move independently when the speaker is responding to user prompts. Like other speakers, it will also reportedly have lights to indicate when the device is listening. The moving parts and lights aim to make the device seem “more alive than today’s stationary speaker products,” the report said.
彭博社今日援引匿名消息来源称，OpenAI 的音箱将“呈甜甜圈状，大小约为冰球尺寸”。此外，据报道，当音箱响应用户指令时，其部分组件会独立移动。与其他音箱一样，它也将配备指示灯以显示设备是否处于监听状态。报道称，这些可动部件和灯光旨在让设备看起来“比当今静止的音箱产品更有生命力”。
Bloomberg pointed to “high-quality metal” and other premium materials for the speaker, which OpenAI reportedly designed with LoveFrom, a studio owned by famous former Apple designer Jony Ive. Apple is currently suing OpenAI, accusing the AI company of stealing trade secrets for its hardware development. Bloomberg’s sources said that OpenAI launched an internal probe on the speaker following Apple’s lawsuit and determined that the speaker doesn’t use Apple IP.
彭博社指出，这款音箱采用了“优质金属”及其他高端材料，据称是由 OpenAI 与著名苹果前设计师乔尼·艾维（Jony Ive）旗下的设计工作室 LoveFrom 共同设计。苹果公司目前正在起诉 OpenAI，指控其在硬件开发中窃取商业机密。彭博社的消息来源称，在苹果提起诉讼后，OpenAI 对该音箱项目进行了内部调查，并认定该产品并未侵犯苹果的知识产权。
The speaker would join OpenAI’s only other gadget so far, the $230 Codex Micro mini keyboard. OpenAI is reportedly looking into making other AI-powered devices in the future. In the meantime, the AI firm is setting itself up for quite the challenge should it release a speaker within the reported price range. Such a device would be significantly more expensive than most smart speakers.
这款音箱将成为 OpenAI 继 230 美元的 Codex Micro 迷你键盘之后的第二款硬件产品。据报道，OpenAI 未来还在考虑开发其他 AI 驱动的设备。与此同时，如果 OpenAI 以报道中的价格区间发布这款音箱，将面临巨大的挑战。因为该设备的价格将远高于大多数智能音箱。
For comparison, Amazon’s most expensive smart speakers with Alexa+, Amazon’s subscription-based AI chatbot, either have a display, such as the 15.6-inch $300 Echo Show 15, or virtual surround sound, like the $220 Echo Studio. Per Bloomberg, the OpenAI speaker’s main appeal is ChatGPT capabilities. Today, ChatGPT has significantly more users than Alexa+, but those users are largely accustomed to accessing the chatbot on devices they already own.
作为对比，亚马逊最昂贵的智能音箱（搭载其基于订阅的 AI 聊天机器人 Alexa+）要么配备显示屏（如 300 美元的 15.6 英寸 Echo Show 15），要么具备虚拟环绕声功能（如 220 美元的 Echo Studio）。据彭博社分析，OpenAI 音箱的主要卖点在于 ChatGPT 的能力。虽然目前 ChatGPT 的用户数量远超 Alexa+，但这些用户大多习惯于在现有的设备上使用聊天机器人。
With the rumored speaker, OpenAI would be betting on people’s willingness to pay substantial money for dedicated hardware to access chatbot features, the most advanced of which also require a subscription fee. Without advanced hardware, which seems like it would be hard to fit in a device the size reported by Bloomberg, a $300 to $400 smart speaker is a hard sell.
通过这款传闻中的音箱，OpenAI 实际上是在押注用户是否愿意支付高昂费用购买专用硬件来使用聊天机器人功能，且其中最先进的功能还需要额外支付订阅费。如果缺乏先进的硬件支持（而这在彭博社报道的设备尺寸下似乎很难实现），那么 300 到 400 美元的智能音箱将很难推销。
Still, with OpenAI losing billions of dollars a year, it’s understandable that it’s seeking additional revenue sources and to drive engagement. It’s somewhat ironic that OpenAI has seemingly chosen the smart speaker industry, which has faced severe profitability obstacles, to try to buoy its finances. Bloomberg claimed today that OpenAI will reveal its speaker this year and release it in 2027, assuming Apple’s lawsuit doesn’t disrupt those plans.
不过，考虑到 OpenAI 每年亏损数十亿美元，其寻求额外收入来源并提高用户参与度是可以理解的。颇具讽刺意味的是，OpenAI 似乎选择了智能音箱这个盈利困难重重的行业来试图改善财务状况。彭博社今日声称，如果苹果的诉讼不干扰其计划，OpenAI 将于今年发布这款音箱，并于 2027 年正式上市。