OpenAI finally launches hardware… for Codex

OpenAI has partnered with keyboard maker Work Louder to release Codex Micro, a $230 physical macro pad designed to help developers monitor and manage AI agents.

OpenAI is finally releasing some hardware. No, it isn’t the mysterious AI-powered device the company is developing with former Apple designer Jony Ive, a project already tangled up in a messy lawsuit. Instead, it’s a product designed to be used with its coding platform, Codex.

OpenAI finally launches hardware… for Codex

The collaboration with Work Louder is separate from OpenAI’s main hardware project, rumored to be some kind of smart speaker.

The device, a square-shaped block of buttons called Codex Micro, is a collaboration between the AI company and keyboard maker Work Louder. OpenAI said it is a limited-run collaboration that will give users more ways to monitor and manage their agents.

The pad closely resembles Work Louder’s Creator Micro 2, and marketing images show what appears to be an identical array of 13 mechanical switches alongside a joystick, dial, and touch sensor. The device also looks broadly similar to a separate pad Work Louder produced with Figma back in 2023.

OpenAI said Codex Micro will cost $230 and be available on Supply Co while supplies last. It did not specify how many units were available as part of the partnership.

In a video explaining the device, Work Louder cofounder Mike Di Genova said Micro has six frosted keys that provide a “live view of your Codex threads,” using different colors to indicate the status of a task, such as whether it is complete, needs feedback, is running, or has encountered an error. There are also command keys that can be assigned to common actions, like push-to-talk, accept or reject changes, and send, and the device comes with 32 additional keycaps of Codex icons. The joystick and dial can also be used to start common workflows and adjust reasoning level, respectively, and OpenAI says all controls are configurable from the ChatGPT desktop app.

The device is separate from OpenAI’s primary hardware project in development with Ive. Details on that device are slim, but reports suggest it will be some kind of smart speaker that lets you talk with ChatGPT. It’s rumored to launch at some point next year. The product has come under renewed scrutiny this week after Apple filed a lawsuit accusing OpenAI of stealing hardware secrets, allegations it said are without merit.

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