The Rabbit R1 and Humane Ai Pin are two AI-focused devices that have piqued the interest of many tech enthusiasts, but after influencers and commentators got their hands on these gadgets, the reviews from critics was a disaster.
Journalists who got hold of Humane Ai's pin early dragged it through hell for its disappointing performance, and a scathing review by YouTuber MKBHD probably put the final nail in its coffin. And the Rabbit R1, which was unveiled to some press and early adopters at a recent pick-up party, didn't do much better.
I also reviewed the Rabbit R1 and as the headline says, I'm like, “I can't believe I paid for this rabbit.”
Rabbit R1: I've been using it for 17 hours, but there's something suspicious about it.
These AI gadgets have not proven to be very useful to consumers so far. So why not pop the hood, so to speak, and check out what's inside? That's exactly what iFixit did in a new teardown video.
Rabbit R1 disassembly
Starting with a teardown of the Rabbit R1, iFixit called its internals “fascinating” and noted the oversized motor, which is very steampunk-esque.
mashable light speed
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Some notable points based on Rabbit R1's exposed internal organs:
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It has a 3.85 watt hour battery. Although reviewers have commented that the battery drain is excruciating, it's worth noting that the Rabbit R1's power efficiency has improved after the battery update. (I was able to confirm that the battery life has definitely improved.)
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The scroll wheel is actually a single metal shaft that can be easily slid with tweezers.
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There are no on-device internal structures to perform AI calculations. The LLM that powers R1 is cloud-based, and Rabbit has always made that clear. This led iFixit to ask a common question: “Isn't this just an app on your phone?”
Humane Ai pin disassembly
Humane Ai's pins were then pried open to reveal a projector shining a green virtual artifact into the palm of the hand, as well as other sensors powering the AI device.
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Below are some highlights.
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iFixit commented that the internal structure of the Humane Ai pin is similar to the Apple Watch. This makes sense, considering Humane's co-founder is a former Apple employee.
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The backplate reads “Made with…Trust, Truth + Joy.”
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It has a 1.1 watt hour battery.
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Its wireless charging feature may be behind the reported overheating issues.
iFixit noticed a common issue with both devices: difficulty accessing the battery. “Lithium-based batteries typically last around 400 charge cycles, and these devices go through so many cycles so quickly that getting a battery for each device is a good idea. It gets even harder. I'm confused,” said the iFixit host.
Neither gadget actually needs to be packaged as hardware. Both could have been apps, he concludes in the iFixit video. The host hypothesized that Rabbit and Humane may have abandoned the app route to escape Google and App Store restrictions.
topic
artificial intelligence
