A new gadget is attempting to break out and replace smart phones. Named the AI Pin, it’s a small device that users pin on clothing. It has a wireless phone line, but no screen to scroll.
Commands are mostly given over voice. Its features are much fewer than an iPhone, but are intended to be used purposefully. The Verge explains:
On Thursday, after months of demos and hints about what the AI-powered future of gadgets might look like, Humane finally took the wraps off of its first device: the AI Pin.
The device, as we revealed yesterday, is a $699 wearable in two parts: a square device and a battery pack that magnetically attaches to your clothes or other surfaces. In addition to that price, there’s also the $24 monthly fee for a Humane subscription, which gets you a phone number and data coverage through T-Mobile’s network. The company told Wired the device will start shipping in early 2024 and that preorders begin November 16th.
AI Pin’s closest competitor would be a smartwatch like the Apple Watch with cellular connectivity. Although it needs another device to setup, wearables like the Apple Watch can function independently if they have cellular connectivity. The NY Times continues:
The Ai Pin’s underlying technology differs from other smart assistants in that it is not “always on” — users must touch the device to wake it. And its assistant uses artificial intelligence technology to deliver information in a conversational way. It can remember past queries and notes to self. (The note-to-self feature froze up in one demo.)
Mr. Kocienda demonstrated this by asking a series of history questions about The New York Times that built on one another, which the pin answered in roughly the same amount of time it might take to search Wikipedia on my phone. The point, he said, was that we didn’t have to disappear into our screens. “We’re looking at each other while all this is going on,” Mr. Kocienda said. “We’re not being distracted.”
While the device may garner some initial attention, its long term chances are slim. Those who reject smartphones have fared better sticking to flip phones, while the AI Pin does not offer familiarity to any user. Its AI technology could garner some attention however.
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