(Credit: Humane)
A startup led by ex-Apple employees is ready to sell a Star Trek-like communicator badge that hopes to replace the smartphone.
Humane on Thursday fully unveiled the “Ai Pin,” which goes on sale Nov. 16 for $699. Customers will also need to pay $24 per month to receive cellular connectivity and full access to a suite of AI-powered features, which tap ChatGPT developer OpenAI’s large language models.
Consumers will no doubt be skeptical that such a small device, which weighs in at only 34 grams, can replace a smartphone, especially since the Ai Pin doesn’t even have a screen. But one of the product’s primary goals is to create a non-intrusive computing experience that blends in the background, rather than one that constantly demands your attention.
(Credit: Humane)“Ai Pin marks a new beginning for personal consumer technology, offering users the ability to take AI with them everywhere in an entirely new, conversational and screenless form factor,” the company says.
In a sense, the Ai Pin acts as a digital assistant, capable of seeing and hearing through the device’s microphones, ultra-wide camera, along with its various sensors. And it doesn’t need to pair with a phone at all.
In lieu of the screen, the Ai Pin features a “Laser ink” projector that can beam a visual software menu onto your hand. The virtual interface can be controlled by maneuvering your palm or touching two fingers together. For example, closing the palm entirely will cause the device to project the home screen. Touching two fingers together will flip through other screens.
(Credit: Humane)The user can also interact with the Ai Pin via voice or by pressing the built-in touch panel. To run its various functions, the device runs an unspecified octo-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and can receive cellular connectivity over T-Mobile’s network.
But is the device as useful as a phone? In a video on Thursday, Humane’s President Imran Chaudhri showed the Ai Pin can play music from the streaming service Tidal, search the web, and make phone calls. Except doing so requires a lot of voice commands and conversations with the device’s onboard AI.
The pin is also smart enough to translate someone’s speech. In the video, Chaudhri shows the device “auto-detecting” a co-worker saying something in Spanish and translating it into English. Chaudhri then replies back, and the device translates his words into Spanish. In addition, the Ai Pin can recognize items through its camera to help you buy them online.
The other big difference between the Ai Pin and a smartphone is the lack of apps. Instead, the device’s operating system, Cosmos, is designed to select and run the appropriate “AI experiences” to accomplish the desired task. Whether the resulting experience is better will certainly be up for debate. The other issue is that digital assistants have a track record of making mistakes or failing to understand every voice command.
For example, the Ai Pin makes a mistake in the video demo. Chaudhri ask the device when is the next solar eclipse, and the best place to see it. The Ai Pin replies that it'll occur April 8, 2024, which is correct. However, it also says the best places to view it will be in Australia and East Timor, which appears to be wrong. According to NASA, the eclipse will only cross over North and Central America.
(Credit: Humane)Humane didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about the error. In the meantime, the company plans on first selling the device in the US. Full tech specs can be found on Humane's website.
UPDATE 11/15: Humane has since updated the video to correct the errors.