- Tech startup emails users about fire safety issues with AI Pin charging case
- Read more: People call ‘iPhone killer’ AI Pin the worst gadget ever
Silicon Valley startup Humane has told users to stop using the charging case that comes with its AI Pin due to safety concerns.
In an email, the company said there was an issue with certain battery cells and asked users to “immediately stop using and charging the charging case.”
It warned that the battery cells, the containers that chemically store energy inside the charger, were defective and “may pose a fire safety risk.”
The AI Pin is a strange gadget that projects a display onto the palm of your hand, but it has been criticized for issues including overheating and an AI that gives “wrong answers.”
Humane is reportedly looking to sell to US tech giant HP for around £1bn.
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Humane notified users about the battery issues via email but did not post a warning on its website or on social media, according to a report by The Verge.
“We have come to light that there is a quality issue with battery cells supplied by a third-party vendor used in our customers’ charging case accessories,” the tech company said in a statement.
“After an investigation, we found that our battery supplier did not meet our quality standards.
“Certain battery cells supplied by this vendor may pose a fire safety risk.”
Humane says the AI Pin is still safe to use and can instead be charged using the included alternative charging device, the charging pad.
AI Pin – created by two ex-Apple employees who were disillusioned with apps – To perform commands like sending messages or getting updates, use speech and tapping instead of typing.
Instead of displaying information on a screen, it uses a laser projection system to display text and monochrome images on the user’s hand.
AI Pin is a virtual assistant that leverages technology from OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, and Microsoft’s cloud computing capabilities.
For $699 for the device itself, plus a $24 monthly subscription, users get a phone number and data on T-Mobile’s network.
Before its release in November, AI Pin was touted as an “iPhone killer” as an entirely new concept that could potentially replace smartphones.
However, the device has been panned by critics, including YouTuber Marques Brownlee, who called it “the worst product I’ve ever reviewed.”
He said the app was “too tedious to use,” that “almost every feature is broken,” and that the built-in AI assistant was “always wrong.”
In an embarrassing promotional blunder, AI Pin AI gave the wrong answer in a promotional video and also provided incorrect information about an upcoming solar eclipse.
Meanwhile, The Verge called it an “interesting idea” but called it “so completely unfinished and so completely broken in so many unacceptable ways that I can’t imagine anyone recommending spending $699 on it.”
In a more positive review, Inverse likened Humane’s AI Pin to the original Apple Watch, which “didn’t get any better until Series 3.”
“If Humane can make significant improvements by the second and third generations, I think this AI-powered shirt-hanging wearable has a promising future,” the reviewer said.