A new type of consumer gadget is dividing opinions, with industry watchers questioning if simple, screenless AI-powered devices could eventually replace the smartphone.
Silicon Valley start-up Humane was one of the first out the block with the concept. It unveiled the Ai pin, essentially a square device with a battery pack that attaches to a user’s clothes, in May 2023.
Humane co-founder Imran Chaudhri stated the mini pin makes possible a future where technology “disappears” by becoming “screenless and invisible”.
The underlying goal is for a user to become more present in their environment, addressing a rising issue whereby people are distanced from their surroundings due to the hyperconnected nature of current smart devices.
To re-establish balance in how people interact with technology, the design engineer said the world needs “something radically different”.
The $699 device (plus $24 for the internet to make it work) functions as a standalone product able to make calls, translate, answer queries, capture photos and videos with no display, and does not require a second device to function.
Grand vision
While the premise sounds visionary, a series of negative reviews pointing to basic technical and functionality issues, as well as slow AI response times, gave Humane a reality check.
A few months after the launch of Ai Pin, Bloomberg reported the company was exploring a potential sale of its business.
In March, another start-up, Rabbit, introduced an analogue device that, like the Ai Pin, pitched to be AI-native.
Named the r1, the pocket-sized gadget is built on a similar idea of taking a step back from using apps on smartphones and allowing an AI assistant to get things done, such as booking flights, ordering food, and answering questions related to the real-world through camera and voice commands.
Today, r1’s cloud-based OS rabbithole is limited to supporting certain apps: Uber; DoorDash; Spotify; Apple Music; and Yelp, with more service integration at work.
But with smartphone manufacturers also pushing the on-device AI ecosystem hard, is there really a market for a separate AI gadget?
AI by design
Rabbit CEO Jesse Lyu told Mobile World Live (MWL) “the consumer electronics market is built around an outdated app ecosystem that limits the speed of innovation that is possible with AI”.
“The voice assistants out there today are no better, I’ve been waiting for almost 15 years for Siri to be useful. Adding AI features to a smartphone only scratches the surface of what we’ll eventually be able to do with AI,” Lyu said.
Unlike an AI voice assistant that is integrated into a smartphone’s OS, Rabbit’s r1 runs on a model trained on hundreds of popular apps, enabling the integrated agent to navigate various interfaces.
The r1 further packs multiple models including GPT-4, Claude, Perplexity Pro and Wolfram Alpha, allowing it to respond to a wide-range of queries.
Lyu believes human-to-AI exchange can be more personal, with the AI assistant learning about the consumer the more they interact, aligning with Humane co-founder Choudhri’s vision to make AI “the driving force behind the next leap in device design”.
While the Ai Pin offers calls and text messages, the r1 strips itself of basic communicative functions and can only connect to the internet. Lyu explained “r1 is meant to complement your digital experience in an accessible and affordable way, not replace your smartphone”.
“It’s going to cost more than $1,000 to access Apple Intelligence when it eventually comes out because you will have to buy the iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max. Our model, and our intention, is very different. We want to bring access to the best AI models to general consumers at an affordable price.”
The CEO continued: “Smartphones have evolved into personal entertainment devices where people spend hours a day watching videos, using social media and killing time. There’s definitely a place in the market for that kind of experience, but that’s not why Rabbit is here. We’re focused on building a useful AI agent that acts as your personal assistant.”
Pocket AI
The point of the r1, priced at $199, is to provide users with an alternative way to engage with a personalised and advanced AI assistant. Lyu argues this will make the interaction more accessible to a wider audience given AI-powered OS, such as Galaxy AI or the upcoming Apple Intelligence, are currently limited to higher-range devices. Notably, Samsung has recently announced plans to make its on-device AI system available to more smartphone models.
Like Ai Pin, there are also question marks about r1. Issues have been raised about incorrect translations, poor battery and general practicality.
Rabbit told MWL the experience from its first-generation device is “not perfect yet” and that it has been working to address the feedback and introduce new features.
Principal analyst and director Americas at CCS Insight Leo Gebbie said the idea of reducing smartphone reliance has been central to the premise of AI gadgets so far, but the lack of support for critical apps “has crippled this aspiration”.
“Until AI devices have reliable software integrations which mean that users can genuinely get things done without having to default to their smartphone, it’s almost impossible to see how this dynamic would change,” he explained.
Gebbie also noted the need for a second device to set-up or access the history of the user’s interaction on AI-native gadgets already presents a “clear barrier” to replace or improve on-device AI.
“This toxic blend of overpromising and underdelivering has arguably set back the AI device category as a whole, but I’m still expecting to see plenty more devices which attempt to capitalise on the current wave of enthusiasm for AI across the industry.”
“Developers are always going to focus on the platforms that offer the most scale, and it’s no surprise to see the sparse support for apps on emerging devices like the Ai Pin and r1”, Gebbie argued.
Lyu predicts consumers will gravitate towards having fewer apps in the future, as he expects natural language to open new ways of interacting with technology.
Paolo Pescatore, founder of PP Foresight, said innovations like the r1 and Ai Pin “are novel devices that represent a stepping stone towards how we will interact and engage in the future”.
“However, it is too soon for these innovative products. Some users will consider it intrusive which will force them to learn a new way of using a device which they’re not accustomed to,” Pescatore continued, adding the “smartphone still remains a versatile multipurpose tech device that will be hard to replace”.
Looking ahead, Pescatore is optimistic for the hardware ecosystem to “rapidly evolve, and future devices will be powered by AI as it transcends end-to-end throughout the network and on device”.
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