by gmjosack on 4/30/24, 10:54 PM with 303 comments
by starky on 5/1/24, 7:50 PM
As a hardware person, both the Rabbit R1 and the Humane pin are great examples of why I'm bored of today's technology in general. It feels like we have been caught in a cycle of minor spec increases and not much else (except maybe removing features/rights and shoehorning in a subscription) for the majority of technology we interact with day to day. Companies are desperately trying to come up with a new device class that will take off, but they all fail in the same way, nothing is solving real problems that people experience. Who wants to talk to something clipped on their shirt instead of pulling out the phone they already have? You don't see people in public talking to the assistant on their phone very often do you? Even if they worked well, these are likely destined to be niche products.
It feels like we need to wait for the underlying technology to advance before we can get to the next set of interesting products. I'm thinking unobtrusive AR, robotics, self-driving, etc. which are all going to take some time to mature to the point where they are practical.
by tb1989 on 5/1/24, 2:12 PM
This doesn't convince the tech fetishists. In fact, I think te's contribution to music is very limited, even harmful, especially when I see the latest Yamaha even imitating te, which feels a bit funny and ridiculous. We need real innovation and democratic pricing.
By the way, if you care, you can learn about the history of rabbit’s founder. Let's just say, in certain circles, this is a recognized liar. So I’m not surprised at all when it was said a few days ago that Rabbit stole everyone’s passwords.
by kstrauser on 5/1/24, 1:58 AM
I bought an R1 during the first pre-order and it arrived a couple days ago. In it's current form, it's not the AI from the movie "Her" that's going to manage your life for you. It's neat. It's a cool little toy that does interesting things and has potential. It definitely needs work: before today's software update, I couldn't type all the ASCII characters in my home's Wi-Fi password. I still like playing with it and I hope it improves.
by paxys on 5/1/24, 12:15 PM
by nbzso on 5/1/24, 2:39 AM
So much “disruption” with no clear product use case. AI is the new dotcom boom. 190 percent hype. 10 percent actual implementation.
The startups have expectation to capitalize on testing with early adopters and naive consumers. The big companies fake their demos for likes and stock prices.
What a conundrum. We need people with real skills and clear vision. We need Skunk Works team quality to achieve something of substance.
by wg0 on 5/1/24, 5:15 PM
And towards that end, it seems these devices are underpowered, drain batteries faster, require an Internet trip to do anything and that anything could often easily be hallucinations.
And that's where these AI devices don't seem to have a chance to ever even a dedicated user base.
by zameermfm on 5/1/24, 1:29 AM
So I guess all depends on how next evolution of these devices are going to be, and cannot see it's replacing the mobile anytime soon. "More devices" is never the answer.
by shwoopdiwoop on 5/1/24, 1:11 AM
I don’t know how they can possibly make money with this but i’m looking forward to having a new toy on my desk and I really like the teenage engineering vibes of it.
by over_bridge on 5/1/24, 5:04 AM
by rjrogerto on 5/1/24, 12:49 AM
by BoiledCabbage on 5/1/24, 6:10 PM
That said long term I want them or others to succeed.
The last thing I want (and most others should want) is a world where only Apple and Google are the only ones hosting mobile AI products.
As any phone OS integrated Apple AI or Google AI will beat out any shipped apps store AI app long term.
If a new hardware form factor is the way to break that duopoly then I wish them all the best.
by raverbashing on 5/1/24, 2:08 PM
99.9% of the HW projects that have a modestly complex display/networking need run on Android. It's a no-brainer. OEM the HW from China, even if moderately custom and they can get you something for cheap.
by constantlm on 5/2/24, 12:22 AM
Using Android for this makes a ton of sense. Lying about it does not.
by junon on 5/2/24, 10:21 AM
That being said, their marketing terminology of "a revolutionary AI-based OS" is what's more problematic. If they had just mentioned it was an android platform none of this would have been shocking to anyone.
There's never been a company I've personally seen that is both truly innovative that also uses the term "operating system" to mean something other than an actual operating system.
by ChrisArchitect on 5/1/24, 1:20 AM
Rabbit R1: Barely Reviewable [video]
by aeurielesn on 5/1/24, 2:11 PM
by rvz on 4/30/24, 11:18 PM
So this was immediately obvious that it was running Android. It is just that this was a nice and perfectly packaged scam, but not as expensive scam like the Humane AI Pin.
and yes. Humane is also using Android for their AI Pin devices. Unsurprisingly. [1]
by doix on 5/1/24, 2:26 PM
by 999900000999 on 5/1/24, 5:34 PM
You can just use Chat GPT on your phone and get 90% of the same experience. But then it's a matter of branding. To some it's cooler to use a toy like this. Sorta like how Beats headphones are often beaten by headphones costing a 1/3rd.
Edit: At 200$ I'm not mad, it's ultimately a toy. Much better than the AI pin costing 700$ + 25$ a month.
by amanzi on 5/1/24, 1:38 AM
But I can't see how they can sell this device without a monthly subscription? Even if you don't make many AI queries, you're still consuming resources on their "rabbithole" web services. If the company behind Rabbit closes down, I'm guessing the devices will become near-useless? Although, knowing that it runs on Android gives hope for hackers to extend and modify the devices.
by frappuccino_o on 5/1/24, 7:21 PM
by linmob on 5/2/24, 3:40 AM
Ever since I saw that hardware, I've been wondering if it could be repurposed as a tiny phone with smart features, or as a 'connected' MP3 player. Pity it does not have a headphone jack.
by jeroenhd on 5/1/24, 2:14 PM
by zitterbewegung on 5/1/24, 5:18 PM
by ChrisMarshallNY on 5/2/24, 1:20 AM
I remember a post, here, some time ago, that was an explanation about why someone wasn’t going to be making a webcam, even though they had a great idea.
The post talked about all the various details and hurdles, involved in sourcing parts, making, promoting, delivering, and supporting the product.
It basically said it wasn’t worth it.
Backing a hardware project requires substantially deeper pockets than an app.
Sometimes, a good hardware wrapper could make all the difference, but it’s a really big deal.
by dmitrygr on 5/1/24, 9:38 PM
Followed by a demo of someone copying the APK and the whole thing more or less working... I think Lyu forgot that the statement was for androidauthority.com (where people who understand android hang out) and not for his 80-year-old-uncle...
by dang on 5/1/24, 5:00 PM
(via https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40223247, but we merged that thread hither)
by TrevorFSmith on 5/1/24, 2:45 AM
by jpgvm on 5/2/24, 1:44 AM
Is it relevant whatsoever? Is the product relevant whatsoever? The answer to both seems categorically no at this point.
I really don't understand why this device is getting attention while hundreds of hardware products launched each year go mostly unnoticed. What am I missing here?
by twobitshifter on 5/1/24, 2:58 AM
by padjo on 5/1/24, 3:06 PM
by garrisonj on 5/1/24, 3:22 AM
It would be much weirder to learn they built an entire tech stack specifically for the device and that it was technically impossible to port it.
by lawgimenez on 5/1/24, 2:54 PM
by the_real_cher on 5/1/24, 2:49 AM
A.I. itself is amazing... but still kind of half baked
by elif on 5/1/24, 1:09 AM
AI apps, particularly voice assistants, are designed to give you text and data via a screen. I can't tell you how many times I've asked a perfectly simple question and my android assistant responded, infuriatingly, "here's what I found on the web" or the dreaded "please unlock your phone" prompt when it relates to anything remotely personal.
If I wanted a web browser experience or to find the answer on my own, or to follow up with focusing my attention and interacting with a digital keyboard, I would have!
The rabbit interaction is for a purely responsive 2024 AI experience, which doesn't try to shovel me back to the 90's at earliest convenience.
by a-dub on 5/1/24, 1:54 AM
the real value is in how it functions in the life of the users. if they put a new llm based shell on top and built a new app ecosystem for it that makes users happy, then they've done something useful!
by rfwhyte on 5/1/24, 2:48 PM