After a profitable unveiling at CES, Rabbit is letting journalists check out the R1 — a small orange gadget with an AI-powered voice interface. This comes simply weeks after the launch of the Humane Ai Pin, which is equally pitched as a brand new form of cellular machine with AI at its middle.
Whereas we’re nonetheless ready on in-depth opinions (versus an preliminary hands-on) of the R1, there are some fairly clear variations between the 2 gadgets.
Most noticeably, the Ai Pin is screen-less, relying as an alternative on a voice interface and projector, whereas the R1 has a 2.88 inch display screen (although it’s meant for use for rather more than typing in your Wi-Fi password). And whereas the Ai Pin prices $699, plus a $24 month-to-month subscription, the R1 is simply $199. Each, in accordance with TechCrunch’s Brian Heater, present the worth of excellent industrial design.
It feels like neither the Ai Pin (which obtained some truly scathing reviews) nor the R1 makes a totally convincing case that it’s time to interchange our smartphones — or that AI chatbots are one of the simplest ways to get info from the web. But when nothing else, it’s thrilling that the {hardware} business feels huge open once more. Press play, then tell us in case you’re planning to attempt both the R1 or the Ai Pin!