OpenAI launched its first piece of hardware last week: a sleek little keyboard designed to pair with ChatGPT. Micro, which was developed in collaboration with keyboard designer Work Louder, is essentially a handcrafted workplace novelty that many tech enthusiasts will love and that may leave everyone else a little baffled.
OpenAI’s entry into the hardware market has not come without drama. several weeks ago, Apple sued the AI lab and accused him of commercial theft, kicking off what is sure to be a long-brewing legal battle. Meanwhile, news from other smart home product in development at OpenAI has also raised eyebrows, as the alleged device, which is being built to pair with ChatGPT, was allegedly developed by former Apple engineers.
Until the legal battle is resolved and OpenAI’s broader hardware ambitions are realized, the most the startup has to offer is Micro: a funky little keyboard clearly designed to delight the tech industry’s code monkeys.
OpenAI sent TechCrunch a Micro test unit. The first thing you notice when initially handling the keyboard is that it’s a small, sturdy device, enough so that if the AI accessory doesn’t work, it could easily double as a paperweight. The other thing you may notice (and I’m not the just one to point this out)It’s just that the packaging, a pristine white box with a sleek, clean aesthetic, is pretty Apple-coded. Make of that what you will.
The keyboard layout includes six frosted “agent” keys on the top of the keyboard, which can be customized to perform specific tasks within ChatGPT or its Codex agent coding tool. Below them are six command keys, which can be used to control those programs. You can pair your Micro with your computer via a Bluetooth connection or a USB cable.
Perhaps the most convenient thing the Micro offers is a voice dictation button, which means you simply tell the app what you want it to do and it will get to work on your behalf. Simply press and hold the dictation button and start speaking. When you’re done, tap the “submit” button next to it to submit your request.
You can customize your Micro keyboard within ChatGPT itself, where a Micro tab lets you adjust everything from the brightness of the key lighting to the specific commands and projects you want to bind to those keys.
Hardcore programmers (the device’s real target audience) haven’t exactly embraced it. Reviews from Redditors are largely negative, with one Reddit user calling it “a joke and not a real product,” and others say serious programmers won’t touch it. A review by the smaller independent outlet Aftermath was even hardercalling the $230 price tag difficult to justify against cheaper DIY and off-the-shelf alternatives. (The title of that review: “OpenAI’s expensive macropad seems designed to specifically piss me off.”)
It’s definitely true that new users may need some time to figure out how Micro works and what to do with it.
Once I figured out how to program the keyboard to my liking, I found it was actually quite fun. You can assign multiple ChatGPT sessions to specific keys, allowing you to easily switch between all your various projects. When you combine it with the dictation button, it makes the entire experience considerably more efficient and enjoyable.
But there is still a learning curve. The Micro’s buttons are color coded. White means an agent is idle, blue means it is thinking, green means a task is complete, and red means there has been an error. You’ll need to memorize that, as well as memorize what specific projects are coded into each key.
The big question is whether the Micro Keyboard is functionally easier to use than just continuing to work on your laptop. In short: why would I spend a week learning how to program and operate this when I already know how to use my computer’s mouse and keyboard?
Ultimately, your experience with Micro will largely depend on how much you use ChatGPT. Since I don’t use AI much on a day-to-day basis, it’s probably not the target audience.
That said, if you’re a ChatGPT power user, have $230 to spare, and like old-looking hardware with clickable buttons, the Micro probably isn’t the worst purchase you can make; It might even brighten your day a little.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This does not affect our editorial independence.