Rabbit R1 hands-on: early checks with the $199 AI gadget

There have been occasions I wasn’t certain the Rabbit R1 was even an actual factor. The AI-powered, Teenage Engineering-designed machine got here out of nowhere to develop into one of the biggest stories at CES, promising a stage of enjoyable and whimsy that felt a lot better than among the extra self-serious AI corporations on the market. CEO Jesse Lyu virtually promised the world on this $199 machine.

Effectively, say this for Rabbit: it’s actual. Last night, I went to the swanky TWA Resort in New York Metropolis, together with a couple of hundred reporters, creators, and particularly enthusiastic R1 buyers. After a few hours of photograph cubicles, specialty cocktails, and a rousing keynote and demo from Lyu — wherein he made near-constant reference to and enjoyable of the Humane AI Pin — all of us received our R1s to take dwelling. I’ve been utilizing mine ever since, and I’ve some ideas. And a few questions.

From a {hardware} perspective, the R1 screams “kinda meh Android cellphone.” Listed below are the salient specs: it’s about three inches tall and vast and a half-inch thick. It weighs 115 grams, which is about two-thirds as a lot because the iPhone 15. It has a 2.88-inch display, runs on a 2.3GHz MediaTek MT6765 processor, and has 128 gigs of storage and 4 gigs of RAM. It has a speaker on the again, two mics on the highest, and a SIM card slot on the aspect proper subsequent to the USB-C charging port. It solely is available in one shade, a hue Rabbit calls “leuchtorange” however is usually often called “sensible orange” or “luminous orange.” It’s positively orange, and it’s positively luminous.

At this level, the easiest way I can describe the R1 is sort of a Picasso portray of a smartphone: it has many of the identical elements, simply laid out actually otherwise. As an alternative of sitting on prime or within the again, the R1’s digicam sits in a cutout house on the best aspect of the machine, the place it will possibly spin its lens to face each towards and away from you. 

After spending a couple of hours enjoying with the machine, I’ve to say: it’s fairly good. Not luxurious, and even notably high-end, simply foolish and enjoyable. The place Humane’s AI Pin looks like a rigorously sculpted metallic gem, the R1 looks like an old-school MP3 participant crossed with a fidget spinner. The wheel spins somewhat stiffly for my style however easily sufficient, the display is somewhat fuzzy however tremendous, and the principle motion button feels satisfying to thump on. 

Once I first received the machine and related it to Wi-Fi, it then instantly requested me to enroll in an account at Rabbithole, the R1’s net portal. I did that, scanned a QR code with the R1 to get it synced up, and instantly did a software program replace. I spent that point logging in to the one 4 exterior companies the R1 at the moment connects to: Spotify, Uber, DoorDash, and Midjourney. 

As soon as I used to be finally up and working, I began chatting with the R1. Up to now, it does a strong job with primary AI questions: it gave me a number of good details about this week’s NFL draft, discovered a couple of eating places close to me, and knew when Herbert Hoover was president. That is all pretty primary ChatGPT stuff, and there’s some particular lag because it fetches solutions, however I a lot choose the interface to the Humane AI Pin — as a result of there’s a display, and you’ll see the factor working so the AI delays don’t really feel fairly so interminable. 

Virtually instantly, although, I began working into stuff the R1 simply can’t do. It might probably’t ship emails or make spreadsheets, although Lyu has been demoing each for months. Rabbithole is woefully unfinished, too, to the purpose I used to be making an attempt to faucet round on my cellphone and it was as an alternative transferring a cursor round a half-second after each faucet. That’s a great reminder that the entire thing is working on a digital machine storing all of your apps and credentials, which nonetheless offers me security-related pause.

Oh, and right here’s my favourite factor that has occurred on the R1 up to now: I received it related to my Spotify account, which is a characteristic I’m notably enthusiastic about. I requested for “Beyoncé’s new album,” and the machine excitedly went and located me “Loopy in Love” — a lullaby model, from an artist referred to as “Rockabye Child!” So shut and but up to now. It doesn’t appear to have the ability to discover my playlists, both, or skip tracks. Once I stated, “Play The 1975,” although, that labored tremendous and rapidly. (The speaker, by the way in which, could be very a lot crappy Android cellphone high quality. You’re going to need to use that Bluetooth connection.)

The R1’s Imaginative and prescient characteristic, which makes use of the digicam to establish issues within the scene round you, appears to work tremendous so long as all you need is an inventory of objects within the scene. The machine can’t take a photograph or video and doesn’t appear to have the ability to do a lot else with what it will possibly see.

If you’re not doing something, the display exhibits the time and that bouncing rabbit-head emblem. If you press and maintain the aspect button to problem a command, the time and battery fade away, and the rabbit’s ears perk up prefer it’s listening. It’s very charming! The general interface is easy and text-based, nevertheless it’s odd in spots: it’s not at all times apparent how to return, as an illustration, and also you solely get to see a line or two of textual content at a time on the very backside of the display, even when there’s an entire paragraph of reply to learn.

Rabbit’s roadmap is formidable: Lyu has spent the previous few months speaking about all of the issues the R1’s so-called “Giant Motion Mannequin” can do, together with studying apps and utilizing them for you. Throughout final evening’s occasion, he talked about opening up the USB-C port on the machine to permit equipment, keyboards, and extra. That’s all coming… finally. Supposedly. For now, the R1’s characteristic set is rather more simple. You should utilize the machine to play music, get solutions to questions, translate speech, take notes, summon an Uber, and some different issues. 

Which means there’s nonetheless an terrible lot the R1 can’t do and so much I’ve left to check. (Something you need to learn about, by the way in which, let me know!) I’m notably interested in its battery life, its potential to work with a nasty connection, whether or not it heats up over time, and the way it handles extra complicated duties than simply wanting up info and ordering hen nuggets. However up to now, this factor looks as if it’s making an attempt to be much less like a smartphone killer and extra just like the beginnings of a helpful companion. That’s in all probability as formidable because it is smart to be proper now — although Lyu and the Rabbit people have numerous massive guarantees to finally reside as much as and never numerous time to take action.

Pictures by David Pierce / The Verge