If there is one The overarching takeaway from the Rabbit R1 launch event last night is that hardware can be fun again. After a decade of undisputed smartphone dominance, there is once again excitement in consumer electronics. The wisdom and longevity of a single product or form factor, while important, can be put aside for a moment. Just sit back and enjoy the show.
Although I fly out of an airport every month, last night was my first night at the TWA Hotel, nestled between the labyrinthine branches of JFK Terminal 5. After all, you rarely stay in hotels where you live. The space is a nod to another time, when people dressed up to board flights and smiling chefs carved whole legs of ham.
Photo credit: Brian Heater
Parked out front was a rented DeLorean emblazoned with the “Rabbit” logo, serving as a postmodern homage to the event’s decades-long tradition. Less strident was the song by Ritchie Valens, sandwiched between Motown hits, from the elevator speakers as we descended three floors to the underground performance space.
When I entered the room, there were already hundreds of participants lined up. Familiar faces from the world of tech journalism pondered it, but a significant number of them were enthusiastic early adopters. The two groups were differentiated using “press” or “VIP” lanyards. A man ahead of me in line volunteered that he had flown in from Los Angeles specifically for the event.
Like Humane, the Rabbit team clearly values spectacle. The approaches are similar but different, with the former investing heavily in viral videos, including a teaser for the solar eclipse this clearly envisioned itself as a sort of spiritual successor to Apple’s famous “1984” spot. However, one gets the impression that Rabbit really didn’t anticipate how much of a stir the company’s debut at CES 2024 would generate.
“When we started building r1, we said internally that we would be happy if we sold 500 devices on launch day,” the company said Posted on X. “Within 24 hours we have already exceeded that by a factor of 20!”
It would have been difficult to time the release better. The hype around generative AI had reached its peak. Humane had featured its Ai pin but hadn’t released it yet. Intel declared 2024 the year of the AI PC and soon Samsung would do the same for the smartphone. Apple, meanwhile, promised big news of its own on this front in the coming months.
Photo credit: Brian Heater
If a tech company wants to put on a big show, it needs to dress accordingly. The focus on product design is another important parallel between Rabbit and Humane. Although the form factors are very different, both the Ai Pin and the R1 are a testament to the value of industrial design. Rabbit, for its part, took a cue from Nothing’s preference and commissioned the experts at Teenage Engineering to develop an extremely original-looking product. In fact, the R1 looks more like a work of art than anything else. It’s a squat, orange object – something you might want to attach to the handlebars of your bike in inclement weather.
While the Ai Pin’s defining physical feature is its lack of a display, Rabbit embraces the screen – albeit modestly. The display is only 2.88 inches in size and feels almost insignificant at times. This goes double for the touch functionality. While, similar to the Ai Pin, much of your interactions will be done with voice, a combination of analog scrolling and buttons largely fills in the gaps.
Other than entering a Wi-Fi password, there aren’t many reasons to touch the screen. This is the best. The most daunting and ongoing task facing the emerging field of AI devices is justifying its existence outside of the smartphone. After all, anyone with a half-decent mobile device (and many not-decent ones) has access to generative AI models. These are currently largely accessed via browsers or standalone apps, but models such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini will increasingly be integrated into mobile operating systems in the coming months and years.
Photo credit: Brian Heater
When I asked Humane the question, co-founder and CEO Bethany Bongiorno shared the following anecdote: “[Humane’s co-founders] I had gone to this dinner and there was a family sitting next to us. There were three children and a mother and father who were on the phone the whole time. It really started a discussion about the incredible tool we had developed, but also some of the side effects.”
The lack of a screen on the Ai Pin is essentially a feature. Again, there are many reasons to question the wisdom and effectiveness of this design decision, but regardless, it is critical to the product. It’s worth noting that the price fairness hurdle is significantly lower than the Ai Pin’s asking price at $199.
The truth is that novelty is a massive selling point at this early stage of the first generation. Either you see the appeal of a dedicated LLM access device or you don’t. Rabbit’s relatively affordable price opens up a lot to this world. You should also keep in mind that the R1 has no monthly service fee, while Humane charges you $24/month for functionality. Combined with the (albeit limited) touchscreen and truly outstanding design, you can see why the product took some of the wind out of the Ai Pin’s sails.
None of the devices handle apps like modern smartphones. They interact exclusively with the onboard operating system. However, this can be linked to other accounts including Spotify, Uber, Midjourney and DoorDash. The system can record voice and perform bidirectional translation. The system can also capture environmental context via the onboard camera.
One of the first tests I undertook was describing my bookshelf. I pointed the camera at a set of four hardcover books: “Moby Dick” by Herman Melville; “The Barbary Coast” by Herbert Asbury; “Understanding Media” by Marshall McLuhan; and “Dodsworth” by Sinclair Lewis. There was general difficulty with the last book – understandably so, as it was the least clear in the group.
It largely recognized and understood what it had to do with “Moby Dick,” calling it a “classic” and sometimes offering a brief synopsis. The two middle books were recognized in 50 to 75% of cases. An attempt was also made to provide context to the curatorial decisions and sometimes went too far in complementing the curatorial work.
However, there were times when the context was a bit complicated. I asked the R1 when the Oakland A’s were playing (I added the city after an initial request for just “A’s” showed up as “Ace”) and it showed me today’s game time before giving me a list of next I played through 10 or 10 so which teams they play against. But hey, I’m a lifelong A’s fan. I enjoy defeats like this.
Photo credit: Brian Heater
What’s notable about all of these early articles is that these types of devices are designed to improve and adjust results the more you use them. I’m writing this after picking up the device just yesterday evening. I’ll send it to Devin for a more detailed description.
After playing around with the R1 for just a few hours, I can definitely tell you that it’s a more accessible device than the Humane Pin due to the touchscreen and price. It doesn’t solve the cultural screen obsession that Humane is interested in – nor does it seem like it’s aiming for such grandiose ambitions at all. Rather, it is a beautifully designed product that offers a compelling glimpse into the possible future.