On November 9, Eastern time, on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of Humane, an artificial intelligence (AI) startup founded by former Apple designers Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, it released its first AI hardware product, Ai Pin。

Prior to its release, AI Pin had been named one of Time's "Best Inventions of 2023."。According to the company, the AI Pin is a wearable device starting at $699, plus a monthly subscription fee of $24, and will be available for reservation in the United States from November 16 and shipped early next year.。

AI Pin Product Faces

It is understood that the AI Pin consists of a body and an external battery, which is a miniature device that can be adsorbed on clothes。It has no screen, built-in OpenAI GPT series of large models, can interact through voice, can also be projected on the palm of the hand to interact。

In terms of hardware, the AI Pin weighs about 36 grams, the external battery pack weighs 20 grams, and is equipped with 2.1 GHz eight-core Qualcomm Snapdragon series chipset, memory 4GB, storage space 32GB。Built-in 13-megapixel camera, microphone and speakers that can be connected to Bluetooth headsets。

Watch the demonstration video can be found, AI Pin through its own laser projection system, can directly display information on the palm of the user's hand, eliminating the screen this carrier。

In addition, the AI Pin itself is also equipped with a 3D depth sensor, which is convenient for tracking and recording the wearer's usage habits and surrounding environment。Since there is no wake word function, users can activate all functions by tapping or holding on the touchpad, or double tapping or swiping to control the volume, take pictures or translate。As a result, AI Pin supports voice and gesture-based activation and interaction, enabling virtual assistants like ChatGPT to accompany users at all times.。

On the software side, AI Pin runs an operating system called Cosmos, which connects to the AI big language model mainly through built-in "AI Mic" software (mainly supported by GPT-4).。

Allegedly, access to ChatGPT is actually one of the core functions of the product。Humane said its collaboration with Microsoft and OpenAI gave AI Pin access to the world's most powerful AI models and platforms.。Therefore, with the blessing of this model, Humane will also launch a new wearable device operating system AI Bus, which will automatically direct users' instructions to the corresponding tools to provide accurate AI services.。The company also said it may add navigation and shopping features in the future.。

In terms of pricing, the AI Pin starts at $699 ($5,091), but in addition to the upfront cost, users must pay T-Mobile $24 a month for a data subscription under Humane's comprehensive subscription plan.。

It is reported that the cost includes a separate phone number running on the T-Mobile network (no need to bind to a smartphone), SMS and data traffic, cloud storage of photos and videos, etc.。

The two-sided future of AI Pin

Humane says they want the AI Pin to be seen as a completely standalone AI device, rather than a complement to a smartphone.。

At first, Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno's entrepreneurial motivation was to break the "screen" between people.。In their view, more and more people want to get more knowledge and information, but the convenience of smart phones at the same time with a lot of life troubles。"We need to rethink the relationship between people and smartphones."。"

Therefore, AI Pin is designed to replace some of the main functions of general smart phones, users can directly make calls, send text messages or find information through voice control, and truly become a substitute for smart phones.。The product itself does not have cumbersome applications, but focuses on artificial intelligence to facilitate the experience。

Obviously, this innovative AI hardware may attract some AI enthusiasts, but it also faces challenges in terms of market, price, and privacy, and as a first-generation product, its functionality is still very limited.。

In the future, it may test consumer interest in physical products for embedded AI technology and verify whether current smartphone sales will fluctuate due to its impact.。In the future, AI Pin may help us glimpse the future sales potential of AI smart devices。