Humane’s AI pin wants to replace your smartphone with no screen
Would you swap your smartphone for this $699 pin badge?
AI has become a bit of a tech buzzword lately. But we’re getting over the hype hurdle towards real-world uses. New kid on the block, Humane, debuted its AI Pin to replace your smartphone. It shrinks down the most essential parts of a your mobile into a 55g square-shaped pin badge that you magnetically clip on your clothes (clip sold separately). Oh, and it also packs the brains behind ChatGPT to tackle just about anything you’ve got to throw at it.
The main point of your smartphone is to make calls – not that anybody does anymore. But to keep this core functionality, Humane’s AI Pin uses an eSIM to keep you connected. The fledgling brand has teamed up with carriers to offer a $24/month plan that includes a phone number, data to use the device, and cloud storage to store photos and videos which you can access from the web. With all this in one tidy package, the idea of leaving your smartphone behind gets a little less scary.
Humane’s AI Pin runs the Cosmos operating system. Rather than opening up apps as you’re used to, the device goes for “experiences”. The newfangled software calls up various AIs and other tools as you need them. Speaking of AI, that’s the star of the show with this debut product. Using OpenAI’s models, the device can write messages that sound like you on your behalf, summarise your inbox, translate languages, identify food, plants, and other objects, and answer just about any question you’ve got. It also plays nice with Tidal‘s AI features, and will pack a suite of AI-powered photo editing tools. Oh, and it also projects text onto your hand.
Powering the AI Pin is Qualcomm‘s Snapdragon processor. It lets the device tackle all these features at once. You’ll also find a projector, LED notification light, camera, microphone, depth sensor, motion sensors, personic speaker, Bluetooth, and battery boosters. The camera features a blinking indicator light to let others know when it’s active. But the Pin isn’t always recording or even listening for a wake word – instead you have to manually activate it via the touchpad.
Fancy the idea of ditching your smartphone for this pin badge? It can be yours for $699, plus the $24/month subscription. Pre-orders go live on Humane’s website on 16 November, and the device will ship out in early 2024. It’s a little unclear what it’ll be like using the device. AI models aren’t completely accurate, but here we have a device relying on one. We know how infamously bad voice recognition can be. And not to mention you need to be connected 24/7 for any functionality. It’s certainly an interesting product, but it’ll be interesting to see how it fares in the real world.
Connor Jewiss