OPENAI JUST RELEASED A $230 KEYBOARD TO CONTROL AI CODING AGENTS AND THE ENGINEERS WHO BUILT IT USED TO WORK AT APPLE — WHICH IS SUING OPENAI RIGHT NOW OpenAI’s push into hardware is moving faster than anyone expected, and the timing of its latest product could not be more awkward. The company just launched the Codex Micro, a $230 specialized keyboard designed for developers using its Codex AI coding assistant, and it was designed with help from former Apple engineers. That last detail matters because Apple is currently suing OpenAI, accusing senior members of its leadership of running a deliberate campaign to extract Apple’s confidential trade secrets and use them to build hardware products. The keyboard itself is a real product with specific functions. It includes programmable keys called Agent Keys that light up to show the status of running AI coding agents, Command Keys that act as shortcuts for common Codex actions, a joystick for launching workflows, and a dial that controls how much reasoning time and computing power an agent uses on any given task. It comes in clicky and silent versions for $230. The pitch is aimed at developers who are managing multiple AI coding agents simultaneously and want physical controls to do it. Whether enough developers are operating at that scale to justify a dedicated piece of hardware at that price is an open question. The more immediate story is that OpenAI is building a hardware business while one of the world’s best hardware companies is trying to take it to court. Keywords: OpenAI Codex, Codex Micro keyboard, AI hardware, Apple lawsuit, coding agents