OpenAI is selling its first own hardware product with the Codex Micro: a keyboard for controlling AI programming agents for 230 dollars. The company developed the device together with the accessory manufacturer Work Louder, and the first edition sold out within a few days.
Keyboard controls Codex agents at the push of a button
The Codex Micro is a compact add-on device that sits next to the regular keyboard and relays commands to OpenAI’s programming assistant Codex. According to the product page from OpenAI, RGB-lit keys indicate the status of running agents, such as whether they are currently thinking, working, or waiting for approval. A joystick calls up recurring processes like code reviews or debugging, and a dial adjusts the reasoning level of the model, meaning the depth of thought it applies to a problem. Fixed keys are used to accept or reject suggestions, to start a new chat, or for voice input. The casing is made of machined aluminum and polycarbonate, optionally with clicking or silent mechanical switches. Included are 32 interchangeable keycaps with custom symbols for Codex functions. The device connects via Bluetooth or USB-C and runs on macOS and Windows, provided there is access to ChatGPT Codex. Axios and Engadget reported unanimously that the order start was on July 15 and that the edition was limited from the beginning.
Apple lawsuit and Ive’s speaker overshadow the launch
The launch coincides with a phase of legal tensions between OpenAI and Apple. Apple had sued the company a few days earlier, according to a report from CNBC, accusing two former Apple employees of sharing trade secrets related to hardware development with OpenAI. The lawsuit also targets io Products, the hardware studio that OpenAI acquired the previous year for about 6.5 billion dollars. OpenAI denies the allegations: it claims to have no evidence of their validity and says it believes in fair competition as well as the freedom of employees to change employers. The Codex Micro itself is not directly affected by the lawsuit, as it is manufactured by Work Louder and not io Products. However, the timing of the lawsuit and product launch drew additional attention to OpenAI’s hardware ambitions overall. This is also evident in a second, significantly larger project: a screenless AI speaker developed by io Products in collaboration with design icon Jony Ive. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman described this separate device, according to several media reports, as the “coolest piece of technology the world has ever seen” – a value judgment that has not yet been independently verified. A market launch of the speaker is expected in 2027, while the Codex Micro already shows that OpenAI takes physical interfaces for interacting with AI agents seriously.
It will be crucial whether physical controls for AI agents establish themselves as a distinct product category or remain a niche for heavy users. The real turning point lies in the speaker project with Jony Ive announced for 2027: only there will it become clear whether OpenAI can build a mass-market hardware business from a limited niche accessory.
