Friend, the AI pendant startup founded by Avi Schiffmann, relaunched its device on Thursday (July 30) with a new voice feature, offering a preview of OpenAI’s reportedly screenless future. The original $99 pendant could only respond through text messages sent to a companion app. Friend 2.0, priced at $249, adds a built-in speaker so the device can talk back directly, TechCrunch reported Thursday. A $10 monthly subscription is now required for the pendant to retain memory of conversations beyond 30 days, Engadget reported. Without the subscription, Friend forgets what it discussed roughly a month after the conversation. Bloomberg reported in July that OpenAI’s device, developed with Jony Ive’s hardware startup io, will be a screen-free smart speaker built to anticipate a user’s needs and function as a humanlike companion. Schiffmann described the device’s purpose in a recent post on X, distancing it from productivity tools and romantic companionship. “I am interested in this kind of relationship in attempting to offer, some kind of confidant, friend, God, not really sure what it is,” Schiffmann said, according to TechCrunch. Bloomberg described the OpenAI device as designed to become more personalized over time, learning habits and anticipating needs. Friend’s first launch a year ago drew attention, including a marketing campaign costing more than $1 million in New York’s subway system, sparking debate and vandalism.