Rabbit R1 it caused quite a stir at CES 2024, where it quickly became one of the most talked about gadgets at the Las Vegas event. A AI assistant to keep in your pocket, capable of booking flights and making appointments, with a retro look designed by Teenage Engineering. But many have wondered: couldn't it just be un’app per smartphone? Apparently, yes: some American reporters have installed the Rabbit R1 launcher as an Android app — e works.
And although Rabbit explained that, in reality, the situation is not so simple, this test and reviews “not enthusiastic” they risk scuttling the startup project.
The mystery revealed: Rabbit R1 unmasked as a simple Android app
An Android app disguised as a futuristic gadget. Despite the attractive design and high-sounding promisesalmost every tech enthusiast in the world has been wondering, ever since the announcement, why Rabbit didn't just announce an app.
L’idea of a Large Action Model (LAM), capable not only of giving answers but also of carrying out actions such as purchasing plane tickets or books on Amazon, it appears excellent. But patenting software is difficult: If a large corporation “steals” the idea of a startup like Rabbit and asks its thousands of programmers to develop something similar, the startup can do little to stop it.
However, an alternative device like the Rabbit R1 should offer more than just an Android app — otherwise, why spend $199 to buy it?
Rabbit R1 as an Android app: the test with a Pixel 6a
To understand if the device actually offers added value, Mishaal Rahman from Android Authority (via The Verge) tried to download the‘APK del launcher di Rabbit su un Google Pixel 6A. And she did it.
In his article, Rahman explains that he was able to install the device “with a little tinkering.” Using the volume key in place of the R1's single hardware button, Rahman was able to set up an account and start asking the AI assistant questions.
The journalist explains that he has not tested all the same features of the R1, indeed he admits that some integrations (such as that of Spotify) on smartphones would require higher permissions than those obtainable on a Pixel 6a. So, the Android app couldn't replace Rabbit R1 entirely. But the fact that it can be installed proves that it is “just” an app with more permissions: a smartphone would be able to do everything that the AI gadget does.
Rabbit's response
Rabbit founder and CEO Jesse Lyu sought to deny these claims in a press release. He where he explains that “rabbit r1 is not an Android app”. The difference lies in the fact that “Rabbit OS and LAM run in the cloud with AOSP [Android Open Source Project, ndr] very personalized and lower-level firmware changes.”
Lyu asserts that “a local bootleg APK without the appropriate operating system and the endpoint cloud they will not be able to access our service.” And he also recalled that using uncontrolled applications risks compromising the user's smartphone: malware is often hidden in the APKs of applications.
The year of AI gadgets is yet to come
If the reviews already struggled to find applications and services capable of justifying the purchase of the Rabbit R1, the revelation that it is essentially an Android app it could scuttle the startup project. The interesting design and the desire to use the smartphone less will convince enthusiasts, but the chances of the “AI bunny” ending up in the pockets of millions of people seem to be receding.
2024 was supposed to become the year of “AI gadgets”. But the reviews of Humane Pin first and those of Rabbit R1 now have reduced expectations. And the next Android and iOS events (Google I/O and Apple WWDC), from which we expect various innovations related to AI, could confirm that smartphone will not disappearat least for the foreseeable future.
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