OpenAI’s Sam Altman drops bombshell take on the iPhone Air — 'First upgrade I’ve wanted in years'

Sam Altman calls it the “first iPhone upgrade I’ve wanted in a while.”

Apple unveiled the iPhone Air, its slimmest phone yet, with a 5.6mm profile and powered by the A19 Pro chip.

At Apple’s highly anticipated "Awe Dropping" event on September 9, the company launched the iPhone 17 series. Among the four models, the iPhone Air, the newest and thinnest in the lineup, drew the most attention.

While opinions on the phone vary among users, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman expressed strong enthusiasm even before its release.

On X, he posted Tuesday, “First new iPhone upgrade I have really wanted in a while! Looks very cool.”

When an OpenAI staffer asked if he meant the iPhone Air, Altman confirmed, “Yes.”G

The conversation continued when Yuchen Jin, co-founder and CTO of Hyperbolic Labs, suggested Apple replace Siri with ChatGPT’s voice assistant.

Altman responded, “That tbh sounds like a great idea, I am supportive.”

OpenAI is already an exclusive Apple partner, providing the AI technology behind some core Apple Intelligence features. It also enhances Siri through ChatGPT Extensions.

However, completely replacing Siri with ChatGPT’s voice assistant is unlikely soon.

Apple is reportedly developing "LLM Siri," a more intelligent and conversational assistant using technology similar to ChatGPT and Gemini.

The iPhone Air features a 5.6 mm slim body and a 6.5-inch Super Retina XDR display with 120Hz ProMotion refresh rate. It runs on Apple’s A19 Pro processor paired with the C1X modem.

The phone has a single 48-megapixel main camera on the back and an 18-megapixel front camera. Apple claims up to 27 hours of video playback on one charge, with fast charging capable of reaching 50% battery in just 30 minutes.

This new slim design and advanced chip have made the iPhone Air a standout in the iPhone 17 lineup, capturing excitement from users and industry leaders alike.