Six months after it was first unveiled, Humane has announced that its unique AI PIN device is about to go on sale.
San Francisco-based Humane describes the AI Pin as “the first wearable device and software platform built to harness the full power of artificial intelligence (AI).”
What is AI PIN?
At first glance, it looks somewhat like the Apple Watch, but instead of wrapping around your wrist, it sits on your chest. Oh, and it has no screen as such, instead it displays a “laser ink display” right in the palm of your hand.
Aiming to give smartphones – and smartwatches – a run for their money, AI Pin offers a range of “AI experiences” that are on-device and in the cloud – there are no apps as such.
Like a handset, you can deal with calls, view and send messages, request songs, take photos and videos, ask questions and much more, touch, interact, With interactions happening through gestures and projected displays, AI can clearly make some of these tasks much easier and simpler.
video demo
Humane was founded in 2019 by former Apple design and engineering team members Imran Chaudhry and Bethany Bongiorno, and in the video below the pair offer a detailed explanation of the AI Pin’s capabilities.
As shown in the video, the device can also be used for quick language interpretation, and it can even tell you how much, say, protein is in the handful of nuts you show it.
The device attaches to your shirt or other top via a magnetic “battery booster” that you place on the other side of your garment. You should be able to get about a day’s use out of the AI Pin, but the ease with which you can swap out the batteries means you’ll never have to worry about running out of battery (just carry enough batteries with you! ).
shortcomings
So, what are the disadvantages of AI PIN? Well, while the demonstration video is pretty impressive, there is a slight glitch where the AI incorrectly answers a question about the best place to view the next solar eclipse. This kind of confident but inaccurate response happens from time to time with generative AI chatbots, and with AI at the core of Humane’s device, it will need to find a way to resolve this kind of issue at the earliest opportunity. .
Another question is how willing people would be to wear such an expensive device outside their clothing, attached only by a magnet.
Still, Heuman should be commended for coming up with something exciting and new. Now we want to see if it lives up to the hype.
The AI Pin is available for preorder starting November 16th and will begin shipping in early 2024. It costs $699 plus $24 per month for unlimited calling, texting, and data through T-Mobile.