OpenAI launched its first piece of hardware last week, a fancy little keypad built to pair with ChatGPT. Developed in collaboration with expert keyboard designers Work Louder, the Micro is essentially an artisanal workplace novelty that many tech enthusiasts will love, while others may find it a little confusing.
OpenAI’s entry into the hardware market did not come without drama. A few weeks ago, Apple sued AI Labs for trade theft, starting what is sure to be a long and smoldering legal battle. Meanwhile, news of another smart home product being developed by OpenAI has also raised eyebrows. That’s because the device allegedly built to pair with ChatGPT was reportedly developed by a former Apple engineer.
Until the legal battle is successful and OpenAI’s broader hardware ambitions come to fruition, Micro is all the startup has to offer. This is a funky little keypad clearly designed to please the code monkeys of the tech industry.
OpenAI sent a Micro test unit to TechCrunch. The first thing you notice when you handle the keypad for the first time is that it’s a sturdy little device. It can also easily double as a paperweight if the AI accessory doesn’t work out for you. Another thing you might notice (and I’m not the only one to point this out) is that the packaging (a plain white box with a sleek, clean aesthetic) is heavily Apple-coded. Make it what you want.
The keypad layout has six frosted “agent” keys at the top of the pad that can be customized to perform specific tasks within ChatGPT or its agent coding tool Codex. Below that are six command keys that you can use to control the program. You can pair the Micro with your computer via a Bluetooth connection or a USB cable.
Perhaps the most useful thing Micro offers is a button for voice dictation. That means you just tell the app what you want it to do, and it will automatically start doing the work for you. Press and hold the dictation button and start speaking. Once done, tap the “Send” button next to it to send your request.
You can customize the Micro keypad within ChatGPT itself. The Micro tab allows you to adjust everything from the brightness of the light from your keys to the specific commands or projects you want to associate with those keys.
Enthusiastic programmers, the actual target users of the device, don’t exactly buy into that. Reviews by Reddit users are mostly negative, with one Reddit user calling it “a prank and not a real product,” and another saying that serious programmers wouldn’t mess with it. A review by small independent outlet Aftermath was even more scathing, saying the $230 price tag was difficult to justify compared to cheaper DIY and off-the-shelf alternatives. (Title of that review: “OpenAI’s expensive macropad feels specifically designed to piss me off.”)
Admittedly, it may take some time for new users to understand how Micro works and what to do with it.
Once I figured out how to program the keypad to my liking, I realized it was a lot of fun. You can assign different ChatGPT sessions to specific keys, so you can easily switch between all your different projects. Combine this with the dictation button and the whole experience becomes much more efficient and enjoyable.
But there’s still a learning curve involved. Micro’s buttons are color coded. White means the agent is idle, blue means the agent is thinking, green means the task is completed, and red means an error has occurred. Along with remembering which specific project is encoded in each key, you need to memorize it.
The big question is whether a micro keypad is functionally easier to use than continuing to work on a laptop. I mean, if you already know how to use a computer mouse and keyboard, why spend a week learning this program and how to operate it?
At the end of the day, your experience with Micro will largely depend on how much you use ChatGPT. I don’t use AI much on a daily basis, so I’m probably not the target audience for it.
That said, if you’re a ChatGPT power user with $230 to spare and any vintage-looking hardware with clicky buttons, the Micro probably isn’t the worst purchase you’ll ever make, and it might brighten your day a little.
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