OpenAI has officially launched its first hardware, called Codex Micro. It may look like a retro computer in a Dan Brown book, but the Codex Micro is actually a very compact keyboard for coders.
How does it work? In this article, we’ll take a look at exactly what Codex Micro is, what the device is all about, as well as how it aims to make programmers’ lives easier. Next, we’ll discuss how these coders reacted (hold on to your hats, folks).
What is Codex Micro?
As already mentioned, it’s a keyboard, but a keyboard with a very specific purpose. OpenAI produced this peripheral in collaboration with Work Louder, and it’s actually a small keyboard – more of a keyboard, if you will, or a “macropad”, in the same vein as the pads Work Louder has produced before, like the Creator Micro 2 – designed for coders who use Codex.
What is the Codex? This is OpenAI’s coding agent that can help humans write programs, perform debugging tasks, or even write code from scratch using simple natural language instructions (vibrational coding, as it’s called).
What exactly does Codex Micro do?
The idea with the Codex Micro is that you have a compact keyboard that allows you to easily switch between coding tasks (agents) with dedicated keys that have RGB lights to indicate their status at a glance. If there is an unread discussion, you see a green or amber light if user approval is required, and so on.
There are other keys for voice dictation (hold and speak to give instructions – there’s no built-in mic, in fact, this triggers your laptop’s microphone), a wheel for adjusting the AI agent’s level of reasoning or depth of thinking (although it can be tweaked to change other options), and a joystick that you can map to suit your needs. The entire keyboard is fully customizable, it should be noted.
All of this is designed so that coders can quickly give instructions, see at a glance what’s happening with agents and tasks, and quickly switch between them, making changes easily and conveniently.
Who will buy Codex Micro?
Obviously, coders who use the Codex are the target audience. Think of it this way: if Codex is a faster way to code, OpenAI wants Codex Micro to be a further hardware boost to the speed of that entire process.
It costs $230 in the US (around £170, AU$330), although it’s not in stock yet, and it’s clearly not a consumer device.
However, OpenAI has plans for consumer hardware. If the rumor mill is to be believed, a wearable device could be in the works – or even a smart speaker, according to more recent speculation. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, it will be a smart speaker that uses mechanical elements to create a “feeling of life” and will mine your emails and other personal data to better “understand” you. Sounds scary, doesn’t it? Really scary. However, this is just a rumor.
What is the general reaction of programmers to Codex Micro?
Look on it
That smart speaker I just mentioned has already sparked a lot of antagonistic reactions, and looking at the Codex Micro articles, it doesn’t fare much better than this rumored creation.
Notably, there are a number of Redditors wondering if it’s April 1st and if this is some sort of prank. There’s a lot of shrugs or observations that you can easily buy a cheap macropad and build your own solution along those lines for a tenth of the price OpenAI charges. Or that there could just be a simple phone app version of this product (with on-screen buttons and sliders).
As one Reddit user says: “Yes, it’s like all major tech products now. Instead of a full keyboard, it’s only 12 keys and costs $230. Honestly, it feels like a prank and not a real product.”
Others think it’s something serious coders won’t touch with a ten-foot pole. And I can’t count the number of “looks like they asked ChatGPT to build a great product and use it” comments that are on Reddit.
So far, the reaction has been completely negative from the target market. There are almost no messages saying, “I’m going to buy this,” and there is a plot of disbelief being expressed at the price attached (even among the restricted ranks of interested parties).
The broader idea might be that OpenAI is testing the hardware with some sort of initial hands-on launch here, ahead of the larger consumer product to come, whether that’s a smart speaker or a wearable (perhaps both). Although if that’s the case, it’s a bit of a puzzle why the Codex Micro price is so high – or maybe it’s a test of sorts, and a sign of things to come as well?
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