It’s official: The device that will replace smartphones has arrived
After many months of waiting, the veil has been lifted from one of the most anticipated gadgets of this year: the Humane AI Pin. The soul of the device is, of course, artificial intelligence, but it also features many interesting solutions — for example, the unique way it can be attached to our clothes. The price of the device is lower than expected, but due to an inevitable monthly subscription fee, it can still be considered high. We show you everything there is to know about the tiny device.
Back in April, the news broke that a company called Humane, with two former Apple employees on board — a married couple, by the way — would replace smartphones with a completely new device. Even then, the press was only able to gather a few scraps of information, but since then, the details have gradually come to light.
The device, called AI Pin, was no longer so secret that it was also showcased on a model at Paris Fashion Week, and a few days ago, we compiled everything that could be known up until that point in a larger article.
The device has officially arrived today, and the promise has not changed: to replace the smartphones that have been a part of our lives for many years. There is nothing new under the sun when it comes to the appearance of the AI Pin: it is a small, square-shaped device with rounded edges, which looks a bit like a smartwatch without straps.
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The heart of the device is an (unnamed) Qualcomm Snapdragon processor that processes information from various sources: there is a camera, microphone, and even a depth and motion sensor.
There’s something it doesn’t really have: a display. Not at all.
Perhaps this is what distinguishes it the most from smartphones that have been made along the same lines for more than a decade.
The control of the device is mainly based on the audio background, and it can communicate with the person via a ‘personal voice’ and a Bluetooth headset. In addition, the device can be controlled with gestures.
© Humane
which projects the things to be displayed onto our palms.
Communication does not require a connected smartphone, as is the case with most smartwatches: the device can communicate independently via wireless networks.
In the case of a device that waits for our instructions mainly on the soundboard, one might suspect that the microphone is always ready: but according to Humane, this is not the case. As long as we do not initiate interaction, the AI Pin does not see or hear – when it does, it is indicated by a lighted LED on the gadget.
Since we can’t keep our hands in front of the device all the time to see if there’s a notification (or anything you want to tell us), another LED lets us know by flashing.
The keyword: WE
Anyone who hasn’t spent the last year in a cave knows that artificial intelligence is being incorporated into almost everything today, and it’s no coincidence that Humane’s product is called AI Pin.
The operating system that forms the soul of the device, CosmOS, is deeply imbued with artificial intelligence. Little can be known about this right now, but it is certain that all instructions, requests, that the user puts in will be run through MI. Humane’s statement also mentions OpenAI and Microsoft, which support the company, writes The Verge, so it is quite likely that AI Pin is based on the GPT-4 language model behind ChatGPT.
The operation of the gadget can be highly customized – for this, an external service called Humane.center will be available. This platform, as its name suggests, will be the central element of the device, where, in addition to settings, data – photos, videos, notes – can be accessed and managed.
The small device can be magnetically placed on the front of our clothes, and this is no longer an ordinary solution. The magnet makes it appear that the gadget consists of two parts – the device itself and a magnet to be placed on the other side. However, the latter is also a kind of battery that supplies the mini computer with energy. Which, by the way, also has a battery, just quite small. According to the company’s promise, this provides all-day operating time, and even then we don’t necessarily need to look for a charger; after all, the battery/magnet can be replaced with another in one move.
And now for some good news and some bad news – or what an AI Pin costs. The good news is that the reports that the device will launch at a price of $1,000 were wrong, as Humane’s gadget will “only” cost $700.
The twist is that you can only use it with a dedicated rate package or get a phone number for it and connect to a mobile network with it. As of now, this will only be available on T-Mobile in the US and will cost $24 a month – they will ask for it. Knowing the price of mobile tariff packages, this may not even seem like much. However, in light of the fact that customers are unlikely to throw away their smartphone (by subscribing to it) right away, since this is more of a prototype, it may seem like a lot.
The device will start shipping in early 2024, and pre-orders will start a week later, on November 16, first in the United States.
