BARCELONA – It is evident: the smartphone has tired us a little.
We still use it a lot and in some ways it is an irreplaceable propensity of ourselves (think, for example, of bank apps) but little by little we start to want more.
We want less time in front of a screen. To safeguard our lives, to maintain contact with the world, to enjoy what surrounds us, to be able to ignore emails, messages and work calls, to be able to separate ourselves from a digital world that is in danger of overtaking the real.
We also want new formats. Even if we don’t know which one yet. We try to fold screens, to roll them, to create modular systems, to propose more advanced designs but none of this makes us think “oh, this is perfect!”.
And then we want something that is simple but complete. Easy but very rich in content and potential. But interfaces that are too minimal take us back to the dawn of telephony, complex ones scare us.
In the midst of this chaos, this desire for undefined change, this need to overcome the telephone as we know it, Humane has arrived with its AI Pin.
A name that frankly doesn’t excite us but which already tells you everything you need to know.
AI because there is artificial intelligence. Indeed, because it is based entirely on that.
Pin because it’s a pin.
A new concept, a different design, an innovative and much talked about product but the truth is that it will not replace the smartphone.
And it’s not just us who say it, they say it too.
A dream: to surpass the smartphone
But let’s start from the beginning.
The Humane, Inc. is an American electronics company founded in 2018 by Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, former Apple managers.
Chaudhri and Bongiorno had a vision, that of a device with artificial intelligence that would free us from the smartphone. A vision that has translated into a flood of investments:
- $11 million in 2019 from various investors, including Salesforce;
- $30 million in 2020, with OpenAI (ChatGPT’s) leading the round;
- $100 million in 2021 from companies like Tiger Global and SoftBank Group;
- others made millions in a round that included Qualcomm, Microsoft, LG, Volvo and Salesforce.
In total we should be around 230 million.
230 million which led to the presentation made last spring during the TED Talks, a presentation which allowed the world to finally know the fruit of Humane’s efforts: AI Pin.
The most widespread reaction was “wow”.
Wow because we were faced with a product that required little touches and our voice to be used.
We could finally overcome the smartphone.
Humane AI Pin at MWC 2024: how does it work?
Al MWC 2024 Humane c’era.
Qualcomm hosted the company to show the potential of its processors. And yes, we remain vague why at the moment it is not known which SoC has been chosen for AI Pin. We know that it is an octa-core with 2.1 GHz of power and that it must be powerful enough to carry out some on-board computations but that’s it.
Some, not all.
One of Humane’s Product Design Engineers explained to us that “some operations take place on the device, others in the cloud. Most processes are a hybrid of both.”
However, we cannot reduce Humane AI Pin to a mere processor. It’s an important part, but it’s not the only part.
There are the projector, the speaker, the sensors, the LEDs and the microphones.
“The main input system is voice activation We tap the touchpad to activate the microphones, which is an important part of our privacy management, and then we can ask questions. And so we activate most of the device’s services.”
Be careful though: at the moment the main language is Englishalthough Humane’s smart pin knows others to allow real-time translation, allowing you to converse with any person even if you are not familiar with their language. Of course, like all systems it requires technical time to listen and translate but the system is decidedly fluid.
The graphical interface is also in English and does not use a screen but rather a laser projector that uses the palm of your hand as a surface. To move between the various menu items you will have to learn a few simple gestures such as the double tap between two fingers which also works on the Apple Watch.
Furthermore, it is with the same system that you insert yours security code, to prevent someone from stealing your device and using it.
But what can we do with Humane AI Pin besides translate?
“There are many functions. We have an RGB camera on board. This room allows us to capture photos and videos and it also allows us to have the ability to see, therefore to understand based on the context what is in front of me and then activate services based on that.
For example I might have a very complex coffee machine in front of me, which I don’t know how to use. I can ask what’s in front of me and how I can use it and AI Pin will tell me how I can activate that coffee machine.
And then there they are music, notes, the ability to recall information. Photos, videos, calls and messages without needing to use another smartphone.”
And yes, we already know what you are thinking “but everyone will hear my calls!”.
We thought so too but Humane employees told us we can pair a pair of Bluetooth headphones. Alternatively we can count on a “very directional” speaker which should give us some privacy.
The price of the future
Humane AI Pin promises to do a lot but how?
With artificial intelligence. Indeed, THE artificial intelligences.
Not just one model is used but many models, with an intermediate layer – between us and the device – which allows the pin to use the AI that can best answer that particular task, that question.
Charming but expensive.
AI Pin is about to hit the market at a price of $699 for the Eclipse version – which is all black – and of $799 for the Lunar (white and silver) and Equinox (black and silver) variants.
To this you must add a mandatory subscription of $24 per month which includes:
- connectivitywith eSim included which is supported by T-Mobile in the USA and which provides unlimited telephone number and calls, messages and data;
- cloud space, called Humane.Center, where you find everything you have decided to save as photos and videos;
- access to various experiences, services and artificial intelligencewhich will be gradually expanded.
The subscription makes sense, let’s be clear.
After all, it’s like buying a smartphone and then paying for your telephone plan, with the difference that here everything is unlimited and includes a lot of additional services.
This does not mean that it is still an important investment, also because you won’t abandon your smartphone.
A pin will NOT replace your smartphone
And it’s not just us who say it.
“I continue to use my smartphone. AI Pin is not a smartphone replacement but I think it will help us reinvent the way we think about smartphones. Our relationship with computers and laptops changed when smartphones arrived, so this new form of hardware will change our relationship with smartphones.”
And this is the opinion of those who use Humane AI Pin every day. In fact, the company’s employees have been testing it for a while, finding it fun and above all noticing that the time they spend in front of a screen is much less. Many of the activities we do with a display can be replaced with the smart pin.
“For example, I’m here in Barcelona traveling. I don’t know much about the city and would normally look at my phone to figure out where to eat, spending time reading information on Google. But I ask my AI Pin what is a good restaurant nearby it will give me three options and I can choose one of them and just go. It saves me a lot of steps.”
But watch out for the battery. Battery life is about a day so no more than a smartphone. Another sign that for now is not destined to replace them but only to support them.
Would you ever use a pin with AI instead of a telephone?
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