Articles

The Next Big Thing Isn’t A Device… It’s The Disappearance Of Devices

We keep calling it a device.

But that’s not what this is.
When OpenAI announced it was merging with io – the hush-hush hardware startup founded by Jony Ive (yes, Apple’s Jony Ive) – the headlines immediately jumped to iPhone comparisons.

“Is this the iPhone of AI?”

Wrong question.

This isn’t about phones or screens or even interfaces.
This is about presence.
We’ve spent decades adapting to technology – learning to type, to swipe, to click, to code, to communicate (words, texts, emojis… memes).
Now, for the first time, the ambition may reverse: tech that adapts to us.
Not through screens, but through ambient intelligence.
Something that senses, listens, assists… without being summoned.
As Jony puts it: “This can’t be a tool for just the people who figured out how to use bad tools.”

That’s a design philosophy.

But the strategy? It feels bigger (the question may be, is it deliverable?).
This isn’t a hardware play… it’s a philosophical pivot.
Sam Altman and Jony Ive aren’t building a gadget.
They’re building the first AI-native object… a product born in the era of large language models, not retrofitted to them.

And that changes everything (maybe).

It’s the difference between bolting AI onto your phone… versus designing from the ground up around human-AI interaction.
Less device…. more dialogue… less screen… more signal.
We’re not there yet.
The announcement video was definitely vibes over specs.
More love letter than product launch.

But that’s the point.

This wasn’t a product drop.
It was a brand repositioning of Open AI… a public declaration that OpenAI no longer wants to be the Intel inside (and, hopefully, not become another Facebook/Meta type of thing).
It looks like they want to be the Apple outside.
That means design as infrastructure… trust as feature set… emotion as differentiator.

And here’s the clever bit…

By merging with io, OpenAI doesn’t just acquire product design talent… they acquire nostalgia.
They borrow the credibility of the last great interface revolution to sell us the next one (if they can get it to work and convince the public that this is “the next”).

Still… big swings come with big risk.

Humane’s AI pin seemed beautifully designed… and bombed.
Rabbit R1 had hype… and vanished.
And there is a long list of tech roadkill on the path to greatness.

Most people won’t get this… because real paradigm shifts are invisible until they’ve already happened.

You don’t miss what you never imagined.
And right now, most people can’t imagine a world where the computer/phone/tablet isn’t a screen.
Screens still work.
Phones still win.
So what’s going to pull us away from the rectangle in our pocket?
Maybe nothing.
Maybe everything.
Because if they’re right… if we are entering the age of ambient AI… then this isn’t about building a new device.

It’s about removing the need for devices altogether (and this is where my bet is).

And if that’s true?
The interface isn’t the killer feature.
The interface is the thing that disappears.

This is what Elias Makos and I discussed on CJAD 800 AM.

https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/2103255801

Mitch Joel · The Next Big Thing Isn’t A Device. It’s The Disappearance Of Devices – The Elias Makos Show – CJAD 800

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Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.