Described by testers as what could become “the iPhone of AI,” no less, the Rabbit R1 is debuting at CES 2024. And it’s being touted as an AI-powered pocket companion.
Rabbit, a startup in Santa Monica, California, simply hopes it will become your personal assistant.
At CES, Rabbit’s booth is full, visitors and media are rushing. As a result, the Rabbit R1 sold 10,000 copies in pre-order at a price of 199 dollars, and all in one day.
Rabbit/ZDNET
A Tamagotchi under AI
“When we started building the R1, we said internally that we would be happy if we sold 500 devices on launch day,” the company said on its X account. “In 24 hours, we have already multiplied that number by 20! 10,000 units on the first day!”
The first batch of pre-orders is expected to ship at the end of March. But potential buyers can still jump at the chance. Rabbit has indeed announced that a new order is now available on its website, at the same price of $199. The products from this new order will be delivered in April or May.
This new kind of “Tamagotchi,” in the words of Rabbit founder and CEO Jesse Lyu, is a square device about half the size of an iPhone. But it promises a more personalized experience than the $1,000-plus smartphone can offer.
Able to answer questions in natural language
“We’ve gotten to a point where we have hundreds of apps on our smartphones with complicated UX designs that don’t talk to each other. As a result, users are frustrated with their devices and often get lost,” says Jesse Lyu .
Lyu is not wrong. If humans have become accustomed to interacting with applications and web interfaces in a systematic way – scrolling through drop-down menus, long-pressing on text to copy and paste it, filtering searches, etc. — AI trained to perform these tasks saves us time and energy.
Capable of answering questions in natural language, the R1 can also control your smartphone’s apps for you by simply speaking to it with its “push-to-talk” button, like a walkie-talkie.
“It’s something so intuitive that you don’t need to learn how to use it”
“It’s something so intuitive that you don’t need to learn how to use it,” Jesse Lyu said during his keynote. The R1 breaks away from the app-based smartphone operating system and sort of does what we’d like Siri and Google to do for us.
At the heart of the Rabbit R1 is the company’s Large Action Model, an AI capable of training rabbits to see and learn how a user interacts with their usual applications and web experiences. , then reproduce these interactions, on demand, on a personalized cloud platform.
Rabbit
So, instead of requiring users to download multiple apps on their smartphones, the “Large Action Model” can access services through a private web portal, called “Rabbit hole”, in which users can log into their accounts, authorize permissions, etc.
Rotating camera “Rabbit eye”
“Like giving your unlocked smartphone to a friend who helps you order takeout, Rabbit OS (the device’s operating system) executes tasks for users with their permission, without first storing their identity information or passwords,” the company explains in its press release.
Rabbit
The focus on safety extends to the R1’s industrial design, which was done in partnership with Teenage Engineering, the company responsible for the design of the Nothing Phone.
Adding to the R1’s pocket-sized silhouette is a rotating “Rabbit eye” camera that, by default, covers its view by facing downward. The camera can be used for video calls, as well as “running some of the most advanced computer vision applications,” the company assures.
The technical characteristics of the Rabbit R1
Additionally, the R1’s microphone, primarily used for voice commands, only turns on when you press the side “push-to-talk” button. Other design elements include:
- A 2.88-inch touchscreen
- A scroll wheel (pictured above) for navigating the operating system
- A USB-C port for charging
- A 1,000 mAh battery
- 128 GB of storage
- A SIM slot for mobile data
Sources: “ZDNet.com” and “ZDNet.com”