AI-first devices, like Rabbit R1, lag smartphone replacement
5 min read
Rabbit R1 and Humane AI Pin aim to revolutionize smartphones, yet they’re in an early stage, akin to pagers
Jesse Lyu, the CEO and founder of AI startup Rabbit, criticized the lack of intuitiveness in modern smartphones, stating, “With hundreds of apps that don’t work together, the smartphone was supposed to be intuitive, but no longer is.” This remark was made during the introduction of Rabbit’s pocket-sized companion device, R1, at CES 2024.
The announcement video has garnered over 4.6 million views, and all pre-orders for three production runs of the R1 handheld AI device are sold out. The Rabbit R1 is already being celebrated as the most thrilling product since the iPhone, according to the Internet. While it remains to be seen if the pocket AI companion device lives up to the hype, the irony lies in the fact that the R1 stands in stark contrast to what the iPhone did to smartphones and the subsequent app ecosystem. Instead, the R1 transports us back to the pager’s golden age, predating the era of cell phones and smartphones. It aspires to usher in a new generation of AI-first hardware devices, emphasizing complete reliance on voice commands and eschewing the use of apps entirely.
The Rabbit R1 may appear contrary to the smartphone concept for some, and that’s precisely its intention. Unlike other devices attempting to mimic smartphones with varied shapes, the R1 is distinct. It is not just another smartphone lookalike; instead, it represents an entirely different product with a unique DNA and purpose. Functioning as a pocket companion, the R1 operates in response to your voice, where your voice serves as the user interface, distinguishing itself from our conventional use of modern smartphones. Instead of performing tasks like googling a query or opening a website, the R1 allows you to command actions such as ordering food, booking an Uber, and making flight and hotel reservations.
The R1 relies on AI for the heavy lifting, employing what Rabbit terms a Large Action Model (LAM), akin to an LLM. Unlike learning from a database of words, the R1 learns from human actions and can interact with any website or web app, providing information about the results. Essentially, it serves as a replacement for a phone in tasks like playing music, purchasing groceries, or sending messages, all through a unified interface. Despite its compact size and retro-inspired design, it features an LCD display, houses a 360-degree camera, and supports 4G LTE.
It functions as a phone but deviates from the traditional smartphone concept. Watching movies or browsing your LinkedIn feed, common smartphone activities, won’t be possible on this device. However, it aims to minimize constant distractions, such as targeted ads, that often plague smartphone users. Lyu envisions the R1 as a contemporary take on a walkie-talkie, streamlining tasks typically performed with a smartphone for 90% of users through a push-to-talk button.
With the Rabbit R1, Lyu is challenging the dominance of Apple and Samsung, the world’s leading smartphone manufacturers equipped with market influence, substantial resources, and formidable research and development capabilities. Both companies are unlikely to readily embrace the replacement of smartphones with new-age, AI-powered mobile computers. Additionally, competitors like Google, OpenAI, Microsoft, and Qualcomm are also part of the race. However, they seem more inclined to showcase AI capabilities on smartphones before venturing into a new product category with an untested track record.
Samsung, in a recent move, introduced its latest flagship Galaxy S24 smartphone, emphasizing new artificial intelligence features as a strategic defense against the perception of smartphones becoming mundane and stagnant in a mature market. Similarly, Apple is rumored to integrate AI features extensively into the iPhone, with the potential unveiling expected at the Worldwide Developer Conference, providing the first glimpse of the next version of iOS.
The smartphone ecosystem, encompassing phone manufacturers, chip producers, operating system providers, and developers, has reached a level of maturity where envisioning the replacement of a phone with another device is challenging due to the strong attachment people have to smartphones. Even products like the Apple Watch, which have become mature after a decade in the market, continue to serve as companions to the iPhone rather than replacements. Apple’s forthcoming Vision Pro, positioned as the company’s next major venture, may undergo a similar evolution as the Apple Watch, despite Apple’s long-term goal of having the mixed-reality headset eventually replace the iPhone in the years to come.
Evidently, phone manufacturers are compelled to integrate artificial intelligence intelligence, including advanced generative AI processing capabilities, directly into smartphones to stay ahead of the curve and uphold their market dominance. However, the reality is that even with Generation AI capabilities, upcoming devices like the Galaxy S24 or the next iPhone won’t deviate significantly from the current smartphone landscape. This is where the emergence of new-age AI-first hardware devices, such as the Rabbit R1 or Humane AI Pin, that utilize AI as their foundational element, sets the stage for upcoming innovations. Lyu emphasized in his keynote that the R1 is not designed to replace your smartphone.
He might be correct, or he could intentionally be adopting a conservative stance toward a unique kind of mobile computer with a notably affordable price of $199 – and, notably, no subscription required. The certainty remains uncertain. What we do understand is that Lyu’s Rabbit R1, as well as the Humane AI Pin, challenges the conventional notion of apps, which form the core of a contemporary smartphone. Many individuals extensively engage with or dwell within mobile apps, whether spending hours on Instagram or managing financial transactions through platforms like Paytm. Modern apps are specifically designed to maximize the potential of screens, and while the Rabbit R1 incorporates a display, its functionality diverges from that of a typical smartphone. The crucial question is how average users will respond to a device like the R1. While individuals already possess smartphones and smartwatches that accompany them everywhere, the introduction of a third device operated through voice commands prompts consideration.
Witnessing devices like the Rabbit R1 and the Humane AI Pin striving to reshape the conventional approach to smartphones is invigorating. However, they remain in their early stages, reminiscent of the initial phase of pagers. In the 1990s, pagers evolved into a symbol of social status, enabling message transmission via radio waves across borders. Mass public adoption of pagers took several years of refinement. Anticipate a comparable trajectory with the latest wave of devices crafted by Generative AI, deviating from the familiar user interface and app store support.
Despite the considerable hype, AI-focused hardware aiming to diminish our dependence on smartphones is still in its infancy. Regardless of the marketing pitch, perfecting the AI-driven interface to present a viable alternative to the app-centric model championed by Apple and Google will likely take generations. The future remains uncertain: will we witness a surge of AI-first hardware devices, akin to the R1, from various companies, reminiscent of the smartphone boom, or is this just a passing trend?
While Apple revolutionized smartphones with the iPhone, introducing the app-store model, it was Google that extended smartphones to billions through Android. The pressing question now is, who will emerge as the next influential force in AI-driven hardware, akin to Apple and Google in smartphones? Furthermore, the future holds uncertainty regarding what will succeed the smartphone, whether it be a facial-dominating headset or an AI-driven handheld. Only time will unveil the answer.
