The maker of the palm-size device says the gadget can learn how to use apps on your behalf so you can summon an Uber or order takeout with a button press and a spoken request.
There’s no shortage of virtual assistants capable of doing almost exactly what Rabbit’s R1 claims to do. Google and Amazon are also injecting their own virtual helpers with generative AI smarts to make them even better at handling complex requests more easily. But Lyu sees the need for a purpose-built device for getting things done that’s separate from your phone and therefore less distracting. He argues that just because your phone can do the same thing doesn’t mean it’s the superior experience.
It’s an interesting concept that might be popular with people who buy modern minimalist phones but I feel like a virtual assistant fills this niche alright already.
I feel like the extra step to use a device like this or a virtual assistant wouldn’t make it efficient. Especially if there’s any kind of processing time after a query.
That’s really exactly what this is - a virtual assistant - but with capabilities beyond what the current virtual assistants offer. On top of that, the end user can easily teach it new tasks, something current assistants lack. Current assistants are limited to their very limited established featuresets and integrations, while this tech allows the user to create their own integrations with little to no technical skill.
Now who knows how well it works in practice - but in theory, I could absolutely see this taking off for a large segment of the population. I see this as significantly more efficient than using a smartphone if the tech works. For example - flights - I could manually check and compare prices and layovers, enter all my information into a form with a smartphone keyboard, navigate each page, confirm, etc, which would take minimum a few minutes, or I could ask this AI to do that for me with a sentence. Tapping glass will one day be a thing of the past, and this is the biggest step I’ve seen in that direction. Competency will be the key here.
It’s an interesting concept that might be popular with people who buy modern minimalist phones but I feel like a virtual assistant fills this niche alright already.
I feel like the extra step to use a device like this or a virtual assistant wouldn’t make it efficient. Especially if there’s any kind of processing time after a query.
That’s really exactly what this is - a virtual assistant - but with capabilities beyond what the current virtual assistants offer. On top of that, the end user can easily teach it new tasks, something current assistants lack. Current assistants are limited to their very limited established featuresets and integrations, while this tech allows the user to create their own integrations with little to no technical skill.
Now who knows how well it works in practice - but in theory, I could absolutely see this taking off for a large segment of the population. I see this as significantly more efficient than using a smartphone if the tech works. For example - flights - I could manually check and compare prices and layovers, enter all my information into a form with a smartphone keyboard, navigate each page, confirm, etc, which would take minimum a few minutes, or I could ask this AI to do that for me with a sentence. Tapping glass will one day be a thing of the past, and this is the biggest step I’ve seen in that direction. Competency will be the key here.