That way, there was enough room for an onscreen keyboard that Lyu said was the same width as the one on the original iPhone. He was able to type on the R1’s screen and tilted it so that the controls sat below the display instead of to its right. Most of my other impressions of the Rabbit R1 come from Lyu’s onstage demos, where I was surprised by how quickly his device responded to his queries. The camera housing lay flush with the rest of the R1’s case, and in general the unit felt refined and finished. The scroll wheel moved smoothly when I pushed it up and down, and there were no physical grooves or notches, unlike the rotating hinge on Samsung’s Galaxy watches. It looks nice and feels lighter than expected, weighing just 115 grams or about a quarter of a pound. I am also slightly concerned about the R1’s glossy plastic build. There’s no indication at the moment that the Rabbit device will run as hot as Humane’s Pin, but I’ve been burned (metaphorically) before and remain cautious. To be clear, the R1 is slightly bigger than the Humane device, and it uses an octa-core MediaTek MT6765 processor, compared to the AI Pin’s Snapdragon chip. Of all the things Lyu took shots at Humane about last night, though, talk of the R1’s thermal performance or the AI Pin’s heat issues was conspicuously absent. From the witty feature names to the retro aesthetic to the onscreen animation and the fact that the AI will actually make (cheesy) jokes, Rabbit and Teenage Engineering have developed something that’s got a lot more flavor than Humane’s almost clinical appearance and approach. In fact, another thing that distinguishes Rabbit from Humane is the former’s personality. Its name for camera-based features is Rabbit Eye, which is just kind of delightful. We’ll have to wait till Devindra actually takes some pictures with our R1 unit and downloads them from the web-based portal that Rabbit cleverly calls the Rabbit Hole. In Lyu’s demo, the R1 told him that it saw a crowd of people at “an event or concert venue.”

It also has a Vision feature like the Humane AI Pin that will analyze an image you take and tell you what’s in it. Users won’t just be capturing photos, videos and QR codes with the Rabbit R1, by the way.

Maybe my expectations were pretty low, but when reviewers in a media room were setting up their devices by using the onboard cameras to scan QR codes, I found the images on the screens clear and impressively vibrant. Now, I haven’t taken a photo with the device myself, but I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of images I saw on its screen. You could also tap the screen or push down a button to start talking to the software. You can use the wheel to scroll through elements and press the button on the right side to confirm a choice. By virtue of its integrated screen (instead of a wonky, albeit intriguing projector), the orange square is more versatile and a lot easier to interact with. The R1's advantages over the Pin don't end there. There, you'll also find the USB-C charging port. You'll just be responsible for your own cellular service (4G LTE only, no 5G), and can bring your own SIM card or just default to good old Wi-Fi.

Rabbit, as Lyu repeatedly reiterated all night, does not require such a fee. Humane also requires a monthly $24 subscription fee or its device will be rendered basically useless. First of all, it costs $199 - less than a third of the AI Pin's $700.

Let's get this out of the way: The Rabbit R1 already looks a lot more appealing than the Humane AI Pin. However, there are a few key differences, which Lyu covered extensively at the launch event last night. Again, like the Humane AI Pin, the Rabbit R1 is supposed to be your portal to an AI-powered assistant and operating system. The latter, by the way, is a compact gaming handheld that was also designed by Teenage Engineering, and the Rabbit R1 shares its adorable retro aesthetic. It has a 2.88-inch color display built in, an 8-megapixel camera that can face both ways and a scroll wheel reminiscent of the crank on the Playdate. What is the Rabbit R1?Īs a refresher, the Rabbit R1 is a bright orange square, co-engineered by Teenage Engineering and Rabbit. But I was in attendance last night to check out units at the event that industry peers were unboxing (thanks to Max Weinbach for the assistance!). Engadget's sample unit is on its way to Devindra Hardawar, who will be tackling this review. It was evident in founder and CEO Jesse Lyu's address at an unboxing event at the TWA hotel in New York last night, where the company showed off the Rabbit R1 and eager early adopters listened rapturously before picking up their pre-orders. The people at Rabbit have been paying close attention to the aftermath of the Humane AI Pin launch and reviews.

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