OpenAI is officially entering the hardware market with the launch of a $230 illuminated keyboard designed to pair with its AI coding assistant, Codex.

The Codex Micro, co-designed with specialist keyboard designer Work Louder, is billed as a sleek new way for ChatGPT users to manage their fleets of AI coding agents – the semi-autonomous robots that can write and execute code with little human intervention.

The device comes equipped with illuminated “Agent Keys” that display agent status, customizable command keys that act as shortcuts for common Codex actions, and a joystick to launch common workflows. It also has a dial that adjusts how much “reasoning” (essentially, how much time and computing power) an agent uses on a given task (agent’s reasoning level).

The idea is that instead of managing your agents through your phone or desktop app, you can now use Micro as your “command center for agent work,” as OpenAI put it. It’ll probably look great sitting on your desk too. The device is controllable and customizable through the ChatGPT desktop application.

OpenAI told TechCrunch in an email that Micro is a limited-run collaboration, indicating that it is more of a novelty item than a product designed to appeal to the masses. It looks like a flashy bauble designed to announce the company’s entry into the hardware market.

The biggest hardware news came on Tuesday. A yet-to-be-launched OpenAI device that Bloomberg revealed appears to be being designed for the long term. It’s described as a wearable, screenless smart speaker that integrates with ChatGPT and includes “mechanical elements that can move on their own.”

Right now, it’s hard to imagine how all those disparate details (moving parts, wearables, and no screen) will come together into a coherent product (OpenAI doesn’t say). But it leaves an intriguing image, to say the least. It also looks like it’s not finished yet. The Bloomberg report highlights that the article is still in development and subject to change.

This new device is also reportedly being designed by former Apple engineers, a company that is currently suing OpenAI for commercial theft.

That connection has not gone unnoticed, and even less so by Apple. Apple last week sued OpenAI, accusing the company’s top managers of a deliberate strategy to extract its confidential information; alleges that OpenAI used that information to develop its own hardware device. OpenAI has denied any wrongdoing.