Rabbit R1a bright orange AI gadget that became a hot topic during the period. CES 2024was announced and demonstrated at a private event in New York last week. The event, which the company called a “pickup party,” is only open to the first few hundred buyers, and we’re currently seeing some early hands-on impressions. Looking through all the articles about this device, it seems like everyone had more or less the same idea. To help you decide if the R1 is right for you, he’s compiled some of the most common praises and complaints from around the web into one place.
Before we begin, if you have heard about this device but are still not sure what the heck it is? Really Please read that my explainer about it beginning.
Too many comparisons with Humane’s AI pins
The recently released humane AI pin Rabbit R1 shares a similar concept. They both have ambitions to become your first “AI companion”. Coincidentally (if not coincidentally) these devices were released within weeks of each other. Obviously, the reviewer couldn’t help but compare them, but in everyone’s preview of R1 he had one refrain that stood out. “At least it’s not as bad as the Humane pin.”
While no one has yet tested all of the R1’s features, there are big obvious factors that already give it an edge over Humane’s device, with price being the primary reason. Even if this whole AI companion turns out to be underwhelming, consumers would rather waste $200 on R1 than $700 on Pin. That makes sense; this is a new concept still in development, and putting a $700 tag on an unfinished, in-development device isn’t ideal.
No matter how you look at it, Humane’s pin was too futuristic for its own good. The whole laser projection feature they tried with this device wasn’t really a success.from david pierce The Vergereport. [R1’s] Interface to Humane AI Pins – There is a screen and you can see it working, so the AI lag doesn’t seem as long. ”
The fact that R1 has no subscription fee, as opposed to AI Pin’s monthly fee, is another key reason why the former is more attractive at the moment. And Rabbit CEO Jesse Lyu repeated this over and over again at the pick-up party, constantly shading his rival’s AI devices.
Aside from the overly innovative approach that Humane tried and failed to take, there was also something about the look of the device that turned many people off. Most reviewers strongly prefer the R1’s quirky, silly aesthetic to the R1. “The R1 oozes personality, from its clever feature names to its retro aesthetic. […] “Rabbit and Teenage Engineering have developed something far more flavorful than Humane’s almost clinical look and approach,” writes Cherlynn Low. Engadget.
Everyone is getting nostalgic
While discussing its beauty, I would like to add that at the moment this seems to be half of its charm. The industry can’t stop gushing about all the nostalgia it evokes. Apparently, the welcome party was set up in the same way. “The whole place is an homage to the retro vibe, and the entrance to Rabbit’s event is lined with display cases containing gadgets such as Pokédex, Sony His Watchman, Motorola His Pager, and Game Boy His Color. I was there.” Engadget is written.
The company is aiming for a specific atmosphere and is clearly succeeding. Most reporters confess that they love this device simply because it reminds them of themselves.Kimberly Gedeon mashable I wrote. “It’s nostalgia. This device, with its cute black-and-white bunny icon bouncing up and down the screen surrounded by ‘flashy’ colors, evokes my childhood infatuation with his ’90s pocket toys like Tamagotchi and Digimon.” It reminded me of. Thanks to Teenage Engineering for designing this AI device. I feel like a kid again when I wear the Rabbit R1. ”
Engadget and The Verge both agree that the device’s appeal lies more in its old-school look than its build quality. Engadget writes: It felt so good because it reminded me of my childhood. ” The Verge thinks the device is “not luxurious or particularly high-end, just silly and fun.” Where Humane’s AI pins feel like carefully carved metal jewels, R1 feels like a cross between an old-school MP3 player and a fidget spinner. ”
I’m still learning how to walk
Based on early reviews, R1 is still being explored. While some things are going well, others are struggling.from ryan Android permissions “I’ve seen R1 shine, and I’ve seen it stumble.” Engadget and Mashable had relatively positive reactions and were impressed with its response times, while The Verge said there were significant delays.
I also completely ruined an order for The Verge once. “When I asked for “Beyoncé’s new album,” the device excitedly went looking for me and found “Crazy in Love,” a lullaby version by an artist called “Rockabye Baby.” ” they wrote.
Note that most people haven’t put the R1 through its paces anyway. All you are asked to do is tell them the temperature or play a song. Voice assistants built into mobile phones can also perfectly address this problem. The real test of this device will be in the training mode, which teaches the device how to interact with the sites of your choice. The device will then be able to do it on its own.
unfinished product
R1 is a work in progress and the CEO has been quite transparent about it. According to Engadget, “Liu promised a lot to the audience and seemed to acknowledge that the R1 might not be up to its mark when it arrives in their hands.” Also on the company’s website: , there is a list of features that are planned, in development, or under consideration. Throughout his speech, Liu repeated the phrase, “We’re going to work on it.”
This explains why most people who got it weren’t surprised by its current features. It feels very ChatGPT-like at the moment, except you can actually execute commands like calling an Uber or ordering food with DoorDash. Your phone can do all of that perfectly. With the camera on your device, Rabbit Eye, “you can point at any object and it will tell you about that object.” That’s right, Google Lens. Lo and behold, my boyfriend’s iPhone can do this too,” he said, Mashable reports.
According to Android Authority, “Rabbit’s software is still in its infancy. The overall R1 experience is very barebones out of the box, with a total of 9 features available right out of the box on day one.” Each function is similar to what you can already do on your smartphone, but it’s a bit more complicated to set up.
In fact, at first you may even feel limited to the nine services you can use until you teach macros and train them for your chosen service. Android Authority further notes that “R1 currently supports music playback, ride sharing, and food delivery via Spotify, Uber, and Doordash. However, only these apps are supported and there are no alternative You can’t choose Lyft, Tidal, or even Uber Eats.
It’s one thing to not have enough features at the moment, it’s another to be honest about it, but it seems like there are some cases where R1 doesn’t deliver what it promises. According to The Verge, “It can’t send emails or create spreadsheets, but Lyu has been demonstrating both for several months.”
Why couldn’t this just be an app?
Whenever a company offers something out of the box, consumers like to ask why it wasn’t just an app.
No one who currently spends time with this device can answer this question. Android Authority says: “When people ask me why this isn’t just an app, I have a hard time finding a good answer. To be honest, I already have a phone with far more features at my disposal, but relatively I have yet to find a situation where I would want to take a gadget like this phone out of my pocket to perform one of its limited functions.”
This means R1 needs to do more. The company is trying to attract consumers by offering convenience and minimizing the number of taps on their phone, but no one will pay that much just to have a few fewer taps on their phone. right.
A version of this article first appeared on Gizmodo.