I tried out OpenAI’s new AI keypad — which will be fun for some coders and slightly mystifying to everyone else
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- OpenAI launched Micro, its first piece of hardware, a $230 keypad developed in collaboration with specialty keyboard designer Work Louder.
- Micro features six frosted 'agent' keys customizable for ChatGPT or its agentic coding tool Codex, six command keys, and connects via Bluetooth or USB.
- Micro includes a voice dictation button and a tab within ChatGPT for customizing key brightness, commands, and specific project assignments.
- Reddit coders — the device's target audience — largely panned it, with one user calling it 'a prank and not a real product,' and independent outlet Aftermath called the $230 price tag hard to justify next to cheaper DIY alternatives.
- OpenAI's hardware push comes amid an Apple lawsuit accusing the AI lab of trade theft and a separate smart home product reportedly developed by former Apple engineers.
- The reviewer found Micro 'pretty fun' for toggling between ChatGPT sessions once programmed, but flagged a learning curve with color-coded keys and questioned whether it's easier than a standard mouse and keyboard.
Why it matters: At $230, Micro is OpenAI's first physical product, built for ChatGPT power users. But coders — its target audience — have called it a prank and overpriced, and the reviewer questioned whether it's easier than a standard mouse and keyboard, casting doubt on OpenAI's hardware pivot while Apple pursues a trade-theft lawsuit.
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