The emergence and rapid growth of artificial intelligence, AI chatbots and assistants has taken the world by storm in recent years, so much so that we’re now seeing both technologies collide and merge into one.
Almost every smartphone on the market these days has an AI component built into it, aimed to make life easier for users.
But a new product on the market aims to take things a little further by behaving as the complete AI assistant, capable of integrating with any app, any service and, to an extent, behaving as the complete all-in-one device.
Rabbit R1 isn’t intended to replace the smartphone, according to CEO and founder, Jesse Lyu, but the standalone device can already go a long way towards doing so.
Rabbit R1 is a handheld AI assistant that is roughly half the size of an iPhone and acts as a universal controller for a variety of apps, allowing users to do things such as control music, order food and search the internet, among many other things.
It’s powered by Rabbit OS, which utilizes a Large Action Model (LAM), which distances itself from being anything like the typical AI assistants we’re currently used to, such as ChatGPT and Gemini, which are powered by Large Language Models (LLM).
Rabbit OS’ LAM works similarly to Alexi, Siri, or Google Assistant, allowing it to interact with a variety of apps and perform actions purely based on simple voice commands. This works on the Rabbit 1 not by the likes of Uber, Spotify or Apple Podcasts developing apps for the device, but by humans training the device how to navigate those apps. It has been trained to know exactly how music apps work, where search menus are on web browsers, how to order a car for hire, and how to send messages.
The device also comes equipped with an LLM, supported by Perplexity AI, meaning it also has powerful search capabilities to boot.
It also comes with a very helpful training mode, allowing users to effectively train their device to do whatever they want, even as far as removing watermarks from photos in Photoshop, although that particular command requires logging into its web portal – named Rabbit Hole – on desktop, which allows further access to more technical services.
Rabbit 1 is essentially an all-in-one, singer-interface super-app device that can, in many ways, perfectly complement your smartphone.
On top of its powerful and impressive AI capabilities, Rabbit 1 supports video calls, and has space for a SIM card.
Its built-in camera isn’t originally designed to behave like a typical camera, though. Instead, its primary function is to help users understand more about their surroundings via visual search. For example, it will be able to tell you what ingredients are in your lunch if you point the camera towards it, or will be able to search the web for a product you point it at.
According to CNet, you can also ask it to give you information such as calorie information in a dish you’re eating, although it failed to give an exact number and instead gave reasons why it couldn’t determine a calorie count and pointed the user towards the best resources for more accuracy. That means that if it’s unable to provide an actual answer, it’s trained to still be helpful in other ways.
Meanwhile, in his keynote introducing the R1, Lyu demonstrated how you can use the camera, named Rabbit Eye, to scan what you have in your refrigerator and then receive recipe ideas based on the ingredients available.
Other impressive, useful and interesting uses include using the camera to solve a problem, such as re-wiring a plug, translating text and note-taking via dictation.
However, tech influencer and reviewer, Marques Brownlee, has recently slammed the R1, labelling it ‘barely reviewable.’ And he’s not alone. The reviews have not been good so far.
Rabbit R1 weighs 115g, has a 2.88-inch touchscreen and only comes in one color – bright orange. To the right of the screen, you have a 360-degree rotating camera, push-to-talk button and an analog scroll wheel.
Under the hood, it comes packed with a 2.3Ghz MediaTek processor, 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.
The built-in 2W speaker is located on the back of the Rabbit 1, while the SIM card slot allows for 5G LTE connection.
It also comes with built-in Bluetooth and WIFI capabilities.
As for the battery, the company claims it lasts all-day. The device is easily charged via USB-C.
Rabbit R1 is available to order now, with the pre-order window being open since January. According to Rabbit’s website, the first batch of pre-orders for US and Canada addresses have left the factory and the delivery for these orders is expected in late April 2024.
Batch 2 orders are expected to begin shipping in early May, with batch 3 orders following shortly after. Anything after that is expected to be delivered to US and Canada addresses in June-July 2024.
For EU/UK addresses, the first three batch orders are expected to begin in May 2024, with later batches expected to begin shipping in July 2024.
For elsewhere in the world, such as Australia, Japan and South Korea, Rabbit says they cannot give an exact date but plan to begin shipping later in 2024.
As handheld ‘smart’ devices go, Rabbit R1 is cheap at just $199. There is no additional subscription services so it’s a one-time cost.
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