Rabbit's CEO Justifies $200 AI Gadget: "It's Not a Mobile Application"
The Sluggish Rabbit R1 falls short on many fronts when compared to your common, everyday smartphone. Forget about sending emails or setting calendar reminders; this AI gadget can't do that. Its capabilities are limited to a select few apps, including Spotify, Uber, DoorDash, and Midjourney. One might question why the Rabbit R1 doesn't simply join the ranks of AI apps if it's not offering anything new.
A sneaky few tech gurus, armed with a leaked version of the Rabbit APK, transformed this $200 AI oddity into an Android application with relative ease. But the Rabbit R1's creator, Jesse Lyu, stands behind its "bespoke" code that demands the Rabbit-specific hardware.
As with the $700 Humane AI Pin before it, the initial reviews for the minuscule Rabbit R1 and its AI assistant haven't been overwhelmingly positive, much like the opinions at Android Authority. The tech bloggers at this platform claimed that they managed to run Rabbit's OS on a Pixel 6 phone using a supposed leaked launcher APK translated into an Android app.
The screen on the Rabbit R1 is an unimpressive 2.88 inches and features a resolution so poor that it only appears in the top corner of the Pixel 6 phone's display. While it responded to a basic question, Android Authority didn't test if the Rabbit's vision or app functions worked on the phone. However, its team was able to sign in to a Rabbithole account (the main account for your R1), which seemed to connect to the UI Rabbit uses.
Rabbit CEO Jesse Lyu issued a statement upon being contacted by Gizmodo, explaining, "Rabbit r1 is not an Android app. ... Rabbit OS is customized for r1 and we do not support third-party clients." Essentially, he insisted that the Rabbit's device runs on modified Android Open Source Project source code and operates from the cloud with extra firmware tweaks. After today's update, the company implemented multiple improvements to validate the device and user requests, as malicious activities could pose a threat to their services.
Mere hours after the article was published, Rahman tweeted that his Pixel 6 version of Rabbit would no longer connect, suggesting that Lyu's statement may have held some truth. The question remains—where did Rahman obtain the APK? For a few weeks, a secret link has circulated for the claimed leaked Rabbit source code. Naysayers have called the Rabbit's foggy promises "blatant lies," arguing that the device is merely operating several automation scripts and relying on virtual machine connections for app functioning.
However, the Android controversy aside, the real issue lies elsewhere. Many startups spring to life using open-source software combined with readily-available hardware. The Rabbit operates on the Mediatek Helio P35 MT6765, a five-year-old ARM-based mobile CPU that can support up to 300 Mbps download speeds. While this isn't necessarily a drawback, the question arises: does it perform well enough to justify the asking price?
Maybe the Rabbit's modest battery life could use some improvement. But just yesterday—less than a week after its release—Rabbit rolled out an update that claimed to increase battery life significantly. In our short time with the device, we found it to be incredibly limited in what it could do. It responded to basic questions, offering a modicum more nuance to some inquiries than Siri. It also has basic vision capabilities that can answer some questions about your surroundings, though these features seemed a bit rough around the edges.
We discovered that the Rabbit incorrectly identified our clothing and location during our brief test period. When we asked it to describe us, the Rabbit claimed we wore a red shirt, although we were clad in standard black attire. The device lacks any GPS capability, so asking it for your current zip code yields inaccurate results. Under such conditions, we'd be understandably concerned about relying on it for crucial information like the location of the nearest hospital.
The process of connecting to Spotify or other apps is an persnickety hassle further exacerbated by the device's control features: your voice and a single button located on the side. If you ask it to skip a song, the Rabbit will ask what song you wish to skip instead of playing the logical assumption.
Our colleague Dua Rashid will offer her thoughts on the Rabbit R1 this week, but after our brief encounter with it, we can confidently say that if it were an app, we'd pass on the download.
- Despite expressions of criticism from tech gurus who managed to turn the Rabbit APK into an Android application, Jesse Lyu, the creator of the Rabbit R1, maintains that the device's customized code requires Rabbit-specific hardware.
- Android Authority claimed that they managed to run Rabbit's OS on a Pixel 6 phone, but the Rabbit's CEO, Jesse Lyu, denied that the Rabbit R1 is an Android app, stating that it runs on modified Android Open Source Project source code and operates from the cloud with extra firmware tweaks.
- The tech bloggers at Android Authority were unable to test if the Rabbit's vision or app functions worked on the phone, but they were able to sign in to a Rabbithole account, suggesting a connection to the UI Rabbit uses.
- The Rabbit R1's capabilities are limited, and it struggles to correctly identify clothing and location, raising concerns about relying on it for crucial information like the location of the nearest hospital.
