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OpenAI and Meta are both planning to release AI Tamagotchis, a new type of personal AI hardware. According to reporting from The Information, these devices are designed to be cute, always-on companions rather than productivity tools. The idea borrows from the original Tamagotchi: a small, playful gadget that users carry around and care for, except this time the pet is powered by a large language model.
Unlike a smart speaker that waits for a command, an AI Tamagotchi is meant to feel present. It might react to your voice, remember past conversations, and develop something like a personality over time. The appeal is emotional rather than functional, and that is precisely the point.
The timing is notable. After years of hype, personal AI hardware has struggled to find an audience, with several high-profile devices failing to live up to their promises. OpenAI and Meta are betting that a friendlier, more lovable form factor can succeed where more serious gadgets have not. Whether users want a pocket-sized AI pet remains to be seen, but the race to build one is already underway.
Before getting excited about the next wave of AI gadgets, it is worth remembering how badly the last one went. The first generation of dedicated personal AI hardware largely crashed and burned, and that failure hangs over everything that follows.
The most infamous example is the Humane AI Pin. Early reviews were brutal, and the device was widely panned. It did not take long for the company to put itself up for sale — a clear sign that the product had not found a market.
The Rabbit R1 fared little better. It was criticised for being underpowered, and many of the things it promised could already be done by a smartphone. When a dedicated device offers less than the phone already in your pocket, the value proposition collapses.
Taken together, these launches left a scar. Buyers grew sceptical, and the category earned a reputation for hype outrunning usefulness. Any new AI hardware now arrives into that troubled backdrop, carrying the burden of proving the past does not have to repeat itself.
OpenAI and Meta are placing their bets on two simple selling points for their forthcoming AI Tamagotchis: usefulness and cuteness. The strategy reflects a lesson learned from earlier failures.
On the usefulness side, these devices aim to offer practical, always-available AI assistance. Rather than being a novelty, the hardware is meant to earn its place in daily life by doing something genuinely helpful.
On the cuteness side, the devices are designed to be appealing companions. That emotional pull matters, because it gives users a reason to keep the gadget with them and to engage with it regularly.
Together, the two qualities address different needs. Usefulness justifies the purchase, while cuteness sustains attachment. It is a deliberate pairing: one rational, one emotional.
Whether both selling points can hold up in practice remains to be seen, but OpenAI and Meta clearly believe the combination is the key to making personal AI hardware stick.
OpenAI and Meta are betting that two qualities will decide whether their AI Tamagotchis avoid the fate of earlier personal AI hardware: usefulness and cuteness. According to the reporting, both companies believe that a device must genuinely help with everyday tasks while also being charming enough that people want to keep it around.
That combination is meant to address the central weakness of the category. Past gadgets often failed because they were neither especially helpful nor particularly lovable, leaving users with little reason to carry them. Usefulness gives a device a practical role; cuteness gives it an emotional pull.
Together, the two selling points are presented as the answer to the question of why anyone would buy and keep an AI Tamagotchi. OpenAI and Meta are counting on the idea that a device which earns its place through utility, and wins affection through personality, can succeed where previous attempts did not.
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