Nothing, the London-based phonemaker, is expanding into a new category – AI devices. CEO Carl Pei has shared a glimpse of what this AI device looks like on X, revealing a retro-inspired look, as the company prepares for its December launch.Pei shared a nine-second teaser on the platform.

The clip shows a rectangular metallic device that gently curves at the top. You can see two pill-shaped cutouts on the upper half – one is glowing green, while the other glows red.

Below this, there is a white rectangular cutout with a red circle. It appears that this might be a recording button, but it remains unconfirmed for now.

And there is no display on the device.Carl Pei wrote the caption, “Context doesn't live in a chat box.” Pei was likely taking a dig at AI chatbots, suggesting that AI needed context from a person’s daily life, and not just from a chat window. Nothing’s official X account reposted the clip, with the caption, “What if you had the time?”What is Nothing’s AI device?Details around the device remain scarce for now, but Carl Pei has given us some clue of what it will be.

In a post on X last week, the Nothing chief claimed that this AI device will be different. “Everyone's chasing the iPhone of AI. We think it's the wrong race," he wrote. “Our first AI-native product ships next month.

No new screen. Couldn't have been an app.” Carl Pei claimed that the device will be built on Nothing’s philosophy, which has gained a fair fan following over the years. “It’s a tool, but one built with the personality and care that have come to define a Nothing product,” the Nothing chief said.In the same post, Carl Pei addressed context in AI. “The intelligence is already here, and the context is what’s missing.

Close it, and everything AI can already do gets dramatically more useful,” he said. “And context doesn't live in a chat box. It lives in the tools you use and carry every day.” It is possible that this AI device from Nothing is a voice recorder which works with the supposed button.

However, the company has not given details on it.The London-based phonemaker plans to launch this device next month, but it has not revealed its price just yet. Apart from this device, Nothing is also rumoured to be working on smart glasses.Nothing is not the only company working on AI hardware.

Recently Meta announced Muse Charm, a pendant-like AI device for its Muse personal assistant that comes with a screen. Meanwhile, OpenAI has been developing AI devices for a while now with former Apple chief designer Jony Ive.

The first OpenAI device is expected to be a smart speaker.There have been attempts in the past to crack AI hardware. In 2024, the Humane AI pin went viral after critics slammed its state at launch.

A year later, the company shut down its servers and was acquired by HP. US startup Rabbit released the Rabbit R1 AI device, which came with a screen, in 2024 too.

The device was also met with negative reviews. The startup then pivoted towards its cloud-based AI agent platform, Rabbit OS3.- Ends