"These AI boxes feel like a product people would use in an alternate universe where smart phones are still being developed"

A comment on MKBHD's review of the AI Pin on YouTube

I am pretty sure you have seen the videos about the Humane AI Pin and the Rabbit R1 (by Teenage Engineering). In a gist, these are gadgets powered by AI that you can carry with you, ask questions and use the camera to identify things around you.

It sounds a lot like a smartphone, doesn't it?

I don't understand why these companies are trying to reinvent the wheel. I mean the phone that we carry with us can do all the stuff better and quicker than what these AI boxes can do.

Not only that but these AI dedicated devices just feel like prototypes (From the reviews that I have watched). They are slow, hallucinate and give false answers. The Rabbit R1 doesn't even let you use the touch screen for navigating around the interface. Plus the devices are expensive. You have to pay an additional $24 per month after you have paid $700 to purchase the device. Meanwhile, the Rabbit R1 costs $200.

The thing I just cannot believe is how the people behind the companies had the guts to launch such terrible products and then put a hefty price tag on them.

For now, dedicated AI devices are a joke. The phone in your hand can do so much more!