Ive rebukes smartphones, vows to create 'happy' AI devices with OpenAI

Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images Entertainment

Jony Ive offered a rebuke of smartphones and tablets, claiming they have led us to have an "uncomfortable relationship with our technology" during a fireside chat with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman at the company's DevDay 2025 [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4502100-openai-introduces-apps-such-as-figma-zillow-into-chatgpt-also-launches-agent-builder-and] on Monday evening.

Ive, who worked at Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AAPL]) for nearly three decades, including half of that as the tech giant's chief design officer, was instrumental in developing some of the brand's most iconic products. This includes the iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad. However, during the chat, he alluded to the fact that these types of products have made many users anxious and disconnected.

"When I said we have an uncomfortable relationship with our technology, I mean, that's the most obscene understatement," Ive said, according to various reports, as the chat was not livestreamed.

"We have a chance to not just redress that but absolutely change the situation that we find ourselves in," Ive said, according to Business Insider [https://www.businessinsider.com/jony-ive-ideas-openai-family-ai-devices-sam-altman-design-2025-10]. "That we don't accept this has to be the norm."

In turn, Ive said his team has come up with 15 to 20 AI-powered product ideas for the Microsoft-backed (NASDAQ:MSFT [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MSFT]) OpenAI.

He said the new devices should "make us happy and fulfilled, and more peaceful and less disconnected."

He also said they need to be less "exclusive," as AI is becoming a type of equalizer in terms of affordability.

"I've never in my career come across anything vaguely like the affordance, like the capability that we're now starting to see," Ive said, according to CNBC [https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/06/open-ai-devday-live-updates-altman-jony-ive.html].

Ive joined OpenAI this summer after it acquired his AI venture, io, in a deal valued at nearly $6.5B. OpenAI also works with LoveFrom, an independent design firm founded by Ive and Marc Newson. It's a collective of designers, architects, musicians, artists, engineers and filmmakers. However, Ive remains a type of independent contractor.

"We're thrilled to share that the io Products, Inc. team has officially merged with OpenAI," OpenAI said in a letter [https://openai.com/sam-and-jony/] on July 9. "Jony Ive and LoveFrom remain independent and have assumed deep design and creative responsibilities across OpenAI."

Despite having a plethora of OpenAI product ideas, no definite details were provided during the chat on what those might look like or cost.

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