Apple and other device makers should learn a crucial lesson from the failure of the canceled Humane Ai Pin: While voice control can play a role in new devices, it needs to be very limited. It’s simply not practical for people to talk to their computers except in special circumstances.
I hope the developers at Apple working on Siri and future versions of the HomePod took notes while Humane cratered.
So far, all the demos of Humane’s supposedly iPhone-killing Ai Pin have been underwhelming.
Humane pitched the small, screenless device — which ships next month — as a successor to smartphones. However, it is garnering almost no buzz at all, no thanks to its lackluster marketing. The Ai Pin’s first introductory video looked especially bad. It proved so head-scratchingly awful, it made you wonder if the company wants the device to bomb, like some kind of high-tech The Producers investor/insurance scam.
But a new video just emerged that actually makes the device look cool. It’s the demo Humane should have made.
In a tedious and awkward 10-minute video released Thursday, buzzy startup Humane gave a more thorough introduction of its Ai Pin. The video all but confirms my feelings that we are seeing the next hilarious Silicon Valley failure play out in real time.
Since co-founder Imran Chaudhri’s TED Talk earlier this year, where we got a vague introduction to the supposed iPhone-killer’s features, there remained a slim chance — one in a hundred — that the then-unnamed device wasn’t a total waste.
Any ounce of doubt has been washed away as this new video doubles down on the Ai Pin’s flaws and walks back its only positives. In fact, the introductory video clearly demonstrates why the device will fail: The AI gave completely wrong answers and provided no way to check their accuracy. It’s absolutely untrustworthy. This highlights the broader concerns surrounding Humane AI and its ability to provide reliable and accurate assistance.
After months of cryptic hints and teasing demos, startup Humane finally put its supposedly iPhone-killing Ai Pin on sale Thursday for $700, plus subscription costs.
You pin it to your clothes and interact with it through voice, touch control, gestures, and laser projections on your hand. However, despite its ambitious goals, the reality of AI pins has been met with skepticism due to performance issues and limitations.
The question is, will this thing really kill the iPhone? To those who don’t like talking to devices except when absolutely necessary, it must seem unlikely.
Humane, a startup founded by Apple veterans, will unveil its “Ai Pin” on November 9, the company said Friday. The press release offered no further details about the launch.
Last week, the company teased the Ai Pin at Paris Fashion Week. Photographers shot pictures of supermodel Naomi Campbell wearing the device — the first person to wear it in public, Humane said.
Update: We embedded a video below showing Humane’s device up close. You probably won’t be very surprised by how Apple-like it looks, given its pedigree.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Apple finally brings Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro to iPad, and apparently uses some clever spycraft to take down a leaker in the process. Talk about killing two birds with one stone.
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Humane, the hot Silicon Valley startup that’s been drumming up interest in its secretive product recently, finally showed the world what its A-list talent has been working on. In a TED talk released on Tuesday, Humane co-founder Imran Chaudhri unveiled a small, screenless, badge-like device that the company hopes will replace the smartphone.
Humane is a buzzy startup that’s raised more than $230 million from investors and has hired a lot of ex-Apple talent. It’s estimated 50% of the company’s 200 employees are from Apple. Chaudhri was one of the lead designers of the original iPhone, and contributed to dozens of Apple’s biggest products (the Mac, iPod, Apple TV, Apple Watch, AirPods and HomePod). His name is on thousands of patents. He met his wife, Humane co-founder Bethany Bongiorno, at Apple. And they hired Ken Kocienda, who literally wrote the book on Apple’s creative process.
I’m laying out their credentials here at the top because it is remarkable to me how such a team could miss the mark by such an incredible margin. Humane’s badge thing cannot and will not replace your iPhone, no matter how hard Chaudhri wishes that to be the case.
Humane, a startup founded by Apple veterans, recently gave a demo of a device intended to kill the smartphone. The new device doesn’t have a display — instead, it projects information onto the user’s hand. But that’s just hardware — the company’s real goal is creating a personalized artificial intelligence that can go everywhere.
Initial details of the as-yet-unnamed product leaked out a few weeks ago. The full video demonstration is now ready to be watched.
The world just got its first glimpse of an AI-powered “iPhone killer” device being developed by Humane, a startup founded by Apple veterans.
The demo raised eyebrows because the as-yet-unnamed wearable doesn’t have a screen — instead, it projects information onto objects around the user, including the palm of their hand.
It looks like Humane’s upcoming iPhone-killer will be a laser-projection system after all, based on a cryptic teaser video that dropped Friday.
Humane is a San Francisco startup staffed with a glittering roster of ex-Apple talent, many of whom were instrumental in developing the original iPhone.
The company hasn’t yet announced its first product, but patents hint Humane is working on a smart, screenless device that projects information onto the environment around the user.
The people who invented the iPhone are trying to invent what comes after the iPhone, and it sounds bonkers.
A secretive San Francisco startup called Humane appears to be developing a wearable, screen-less device that uses low-powered lasers to project information out into the wearer’s environment. And there’s not an AR/VR headset in sight.