The handheld AI assistant Rabbit R1 has landed in the hands of its earliest adopters, and its public reception carries an air of relief from fans of the nascent hardware category.
The emerging category of AI-powered personal assistants has few entrants, most prominent among them the much-maligned Humane AI Pin, which was panned for its sluggish performance and lack of real-world utility.
Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy said “[the] Rabbit R1 it is actually quick.
Engadget reviewer Cherlynn Low said she was skeptical about AI devices but found the Rabbit R1 to be more accessible and fun than the Humane AI pin.
Matt Smith, another Engadget reviewer, highlighted the Rabbit R1’s affordability compared to the Humane AI pin.
David Pierce from The Verge described the Rabbit R1 as “silly and fun,” also drawing a contrast with the Humane AI pin, which he likened to a “carefully sculpted metal gem.”
Last week, he uploaded a comparison video in which the R1 was faster than the Humane AI pin in all of the tasks that it was asked to perform.
Lyu even took a jab at the Humane AI pin at a recent conference.
A sense of relief permeates the public response as enthusiasts of the emerging hardware category welcome the arrival of the handheld AI assistant Rabbit R1.
There are not many players in the growing field of AI-powered personal assistants. The most well-known is the much-maligned Humane AI Pin, which received negative press for its slow performance and lack of practical use. On the other hand, it appears that the R1 has made a good impression.
The Rabbit R1 made its debut at CES 2024, showcasing a novel combination of low-tech hardware and cutting-edge software that combines large language models (LLMs) with a novel technology known as large action models, which can manipulate other apps and supposedly provide AI with more useful abilities.
Yesterday, the company held a live unboxing.
Pitched as a portal to a computing future beyond touch and app-based interactions, the device would need quick reactions to make its vision a reality. According to Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy, “[The] Rabbit R1 is incredibly fast. The team observed that most responses took between 1.5 and 2 seconds.
Designed by Swedish electronics company Teenage Engineering, Hilsenteger said he was impressed with the device’s appearance and found it to be “very fun to experiment with.”.
He stated, “What the hardware represents is an opportunity to get people excited about a new input method that isn’t app-based or touch-based.”.
Another longtime fan is Justine “iJustine” Ezarik, a tech reviewer.
She wrote in her review, “I think the R1 is really a standout product and overall I’m impressed with this device.”. It has a very user-focused design and combines clever adaptive software with sturdy hardware. “.”.
Ezarik was thrilled with the device’s vision capabilities and its ability to perform certain tasks, such as placing an Uber or a pizza order from a nearby restaurant.
In a similar vein, Mark Spoonauer, the global editor-in-chief of Tom’s Guide, proposed that the gadget could make things easier for people who have trouble navigating complex graphic interfaces, such as calling an Uber ride.
In a Techsploder interview, he stated, “The other potential market is those who are older.”. To simplify things, my mom could simply say to a device, “Come pick me up and take me to ‘blank,'” rather than navigating through several screens on an app, if she needed an Uber ride. “.
Next week, the entire Tom’s Guide review will be released.
Though she was dubious about AI gadgets, Cherlynn Low, an Engadget reviewer, thought the Rabbit R1 was more approachable and entertaining than the Humane AI pin.
She remarked, “Rabbit has already succeeded in making me feel like Alice entering Wonderland,” but pointed out that the Humane AI pin’s smooth integration with third-party apps accounts for the majority of its allure.
In support of this theory, ZDNet Editor Kyle Kucharski reiterated that the R1’s affordability alone may make it more alluring.
The Verge’s David Pierce called the Rabbit R1 “fun and silly,” but he also made a comparison to the Humane AI pin, which he called a “well-crafted metal jewel.”. When Rabbit proposed that the R1 belongs to a completely new class of device, Pierce agreed.
Although Jesse Lyu, the CEO of Rabbit, has been demonstrating spreadsheet creation and email sending for months, Pierce pointed out that the R1 “can’t send emails” and that it appears to be aiming to be more of a helpful companion than a smartphone killer. “.
Tech reviewer Riley Brown from TikTok and Instagram was able to complete those tasks in his review.
The Rabbit R1’s Large Action Model was the focus of Matt Wolfe’s YouTube product and service reviews dealing with artificial intelligence.
The R1’s teaching mode, which converts the gadget into a portable AI agent, is what really excites us, according to Wolfe. “A task is demonstrated to the R1 by a computer, and once it is learned, it can be performed by the Rabbit anytime it needs to be in the future by simply calling out instructions.”. “.
Following his criticism of the Humane AI Pin, which was published weeks ago, Marques Brownlee—whose review was unfairly attributed to harming the company—posted a picture of the device in his hand. It is obvious that his fans are curious to know what he thought of it.
Rabbit CEO Lyu, for his part, expressed no anxiety over the barrage of negative reviews that will be directed at him. He posted a comparison video last week in which he demonstrated how the R1 completed every task given to it more quickly than the Humane AI pin.
During a recent conference, Lyu even made fun of the Humane AI pin.
He said earlier this week, “There will undoubtedly be a lot of bugs and issues, but we’re all here to fix them as fast as possible.”. However, I doubt MKBHD will claim that this is the worst product we’ve ever reviewed. “.
