It was in the early days of AI hardware that the Humane AI pin was announced. The Humane AI Pin debuted on the fashion runway as a $700 wearable and soon took over the $200 Pocket AI and the yet-to-be-launched device category. Rewind pendant launched
Months later, the review embargo finally expired and dozens of tech media and influencers came forward with their early adopter thoughts. The overall verdict was grim.
A “probable disruption” was declared. washington post Headlines, meanwhile mad Humane AI devices were said to be “too simple,” too clunky and too limited. From there, things only went downhill.
Humane AI Pin was introduced as an AI-powered personal assistant with an onboard Large Language Model (LLM) and a laser-powered palm display. Attached to the shirt by a magnetized battery pack, the actual weight came from the $699 upfront price and $24 monthly subscription fee.
The ideal vision of wearable AI is a post-smartphone world, a world in which people can access their information and the world’s information without touching them. If Humane AI pins represent the cutting edge of technology, the reality is that we are a long way from a techno-utopian future.
unanimous verdict
The first reviews were not good. It described the user experience as disappointing at best and compared it to the false promises of Theranos at worst.
what’s the problem? First of all, everything. Its elegance and beauty are only skin deep.
Not only is the device expensive, but it also requires an internet connection to work, making it virtually useless in areas with poor connectivity, said Arun Maine, a prominent YouTube technology critic.
The title of his 23-minute video review reads, “I Tested the Viral Humane AI Pin.” “It’s a nightmare.” Maine says the device is difficult to use, has a slow and unresponsive touchpad, and has a voice interface that broadcasts interactions to anyone who can hear.
“I’ve never wanted to love technology so much and still couldn’t,” he said.
Top tech podcaster Marques Brownlee echoed these sentiments, saying the device is disappointingly slow and lacks solid integration with other devices. He also said the device is heavy and battery drain is inconsistent.
If you really want to ditch your smartphone, Brownlee graciously acknowledges that there are still good use cases for pins, saying, “You can do that today with Humane pins,” which is what portable metal plates and glass do. But, he says, “a lot of things will take longer to do, you’ll end up doing a lot of worse stuff than you originally did, your photos will be worse, and you’ll be less capable.
“You’ll have a new phone number, you’ll need to charge other devices… but you’ll spend less time looking at screens,” he continued. “Mission accomplished.”
Steve Mosser of MacRumors was equally unimpressed, declaring that the device’s capabilities do not surpass those of a smartphone and that it does not integrate with existing phone services, complicating the messaging experience. He also points out that the device is an expensive product, meaning you pay a high subscription fee for a device with fewer features.
Moser said that given the pace of the AI hype cycle, Humane was too slow out of the gate.
The Verge was even more scathing in its review. It said the unit was “completely unfinished and completely broken in an unacceptable way.”
“Should I buy this? That’s easy. no. Ah oh. No,” edge Editor David Pierce wrote in his extended review. “Basically, there are too many things you can’t do, too many things you don’t do well, and too many things you do well, but sometimes it’s hard to pick just one thing you’re really good at. .”
that much washington postMeanwhile, after citing the Humane AI Pin camera producing grainy and blurry images in low-light conditions, they concluded that the AI assistant “produces unhelpful results.”
“But if there’s a lesson here, it’s that it may be better to force us to use the devices we have more wisely than to waste money on new devices that promise to solve our problems,” Chris Velasco wrote.
Wired likewise points out that the device can’t do anything that a smartphone can’t already do, and in most cases, a smartphone can do it better.
call and answer
Humane has recognized the storm of bad reviews and is making several upgrades this summer, including nutritional advice, advisors, additional voice settings, photo sharing via SMS, timers and clocks, reminders, dynamic UI, push support, gestures and translation. I promised. All features have been improved almost completely on smartphones.
A software development kit (SDK) is also being developed to expand the capabilities of Humane AI Pin. Perhaps Finn will have his iPhone moment once developers are able to build third-party apps for this particular hardware.
But don’t hold your breath.
Edited by Ryan Ozawa.
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