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A lot of innovative tech announcements have been leaping in at the ongoing CES 2024 over the last few days. A new AI startup called Rabbit also announced a dedicated AI companion device called Rabbit R1. It doesn’t aim to replace smartphones but can run apps on the user’s behalf. Its primary goal is to act as a bridge between users and their smartphones. Rabbit says that the R1 is quite similar to AI-based voice assistants but the main difference is that it can learn intricate tasks and do them for the user.
Rabbit R1 is a dedicated AI companion device with a retro look
While smartphones and voice assistants can do a lot of tasks, Rabbit CEO Jesse Lyu says that the apps and functions have stripped away their simplicity. The R1 is pretty straightforward and a simple device. It has an Orange-colored retro look that weaves nostalgia. The device is half the size of a smartphone. It features a 2.88-inch touchscreen display, a unique rotatable camera eye, and a side button for navigation and interaction. There are also far-field microphones for voice command input. The physical button is used to talk to the built-in assistant similar to a walkie-talkie.
Although the Rabbit R1 is not a smartphone, under the hood, it is powered by a 2.3GHz MediaTek Helio P35 processor paired with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage. Users can also initiate phone calls with WiFi and cellular connectivity via the SIM card slot.
The R1 runs on the LAM model
The Rabbit R1 runs on the company’s Rabbit OS. The software is based on the Large Action Model (LAM) compared to ChatGPT’s large language model. It does not come with built-in apps but instead connects to services to carry out requests. This is because the device is only meant to serve as an assistant and help you get things done. Users need to authorize the R1 to access apps on their behalf. This happens through a web portal called Rabbit Hole where users can log in to their services. Rabbit says that it does not store any user data and authentication happens on the device. Users can unlink accounts and delete stored data at any time.
The Rabbit R1 can control music playback, book a cab, buy groceries, and do some more tasks. The device also comes with a dedicated training mode which allows users to train the AI to get specific tasks done. Lyu demonstrated this by teaching the R1 how to use Photoshop and said that it takes the Rabbit OS 30 seconds to process.
Rabbit R1 is already sold out showing strong interest in the device
The Rabbit R1 carries a price tag of $199 in the US with the pre-orders currently live. It is expected to start shipping in March. The company on January 12 announced that two batches of 10,000 R1 have been sold out. The third batch is now available with expected delivery date between May and June. This shows that the AI companion device has garnered a strong interest.
With the Rabbit R1 and Humane’s AI Pin, it’s likely that we will see new gadgets built around AI.