'Rabbit R1' Reimagines How People Use Mobile Devices By Introducing 'AI In A 'Box'

Like it or not, 2023 was the year of AI.

It saw the rise of a number of AI products, with OpenAI's ChatGPT as one of the most prominent.

At the same time, despite shipment of smartphones continue seeing healthy figures, people are somehow 'bored' or the fact that the devices they hold in their hands, and in their pockets and purses, aren't introducing anything significant other than improvements in hardware and tweaks in software.

At CES 2024, Rabbit R1 managed to catch a lot of attention due to its ability to literally reimagine how people use their personal gadgets.

The device which resembles a tiny orange box, has people crazy for it, as it trades phone apps for AI.

Unveiled at CES 2024, an event held from January 9 to 12, Rabbit R1, co-designed with Teenage Engineering, resembles a Walkie-Talkie, or maybe a 90s-era handheld TV.

With its square design and eye-popping orange color, the device makes it capable of boasting that retro-level feel.

Its hardware include a rotating camera, a control wheel, speakers, and microphones. Additionally, it has 4GB of memory, 128GB of storage, and runs on a 2.3GHz MediaTek processor.

And with a 2.88 inch screen, it's about half the size of the Apple iPhone 15 Pro, and that it's lighter as well.

With a price tag of $200, it's also a lot cheaper than the iPhone.

But unlike the iPhone, or any other smartphones for that matter, the Rabbit R1 doesn't have apps.

Instead, users can connect to the apps on their phone, and use it on top of the Rabbit R1 operating system, called the Rabbit OS, which is an AI model that can navigate app interfaces to perform tasks.

Rabbit OS is where the magic happens.

Instead of calling its AI a Large Language Model, the company calls it a "Large Action Model." This is because Rabbit OS is essentially a sort of universal controller for apps.

"We wanted to find a universal solution just like large language models," said Jesse Lyu. "How can we find a universal solution to actually trigger our services, regardless of whether you’re a website or an app or whatever platform or desktop?"

With Rabbit R1, users can interact with connected apps with voice command, and have Rabbit R1 deliver the response of the apps using voice.

Users can use Rabbit R1 for activities like booking rides, managing household tasks, and answering queries.

AI assistants, like Google Assistant do exist. What's more. ChatGPT and Copilot live as dedicated apps. But users have to open them, and that interaction is limited to the apps themselves.

Rabbit R1 takes this further.

It didn't take long before the company sold out the first batch of Rabbit R1, and then sold out the second batch a few days later, the third batch, and also the fourth batch in just mere days.

Long story short, Rabbit R1 is a handheld AI assistant.

The device promises to take pocket gadgets to the next level by offering something like a smartphone, but with an intuitive, unified, AI-driven interface.

Piggybacking the hype ChatGPT and the rise of AI products, Rabbit R1 introduces something unique that the market is currently eager to have.

After CES, the company shed some light on which LLM shall power its orange-colored brick. The company said that it partners with Perplexity.

Another product that tries to reinvent human-computer interaction, is Humane with its 'Ai Pin', which uses a pin attached to users' clothes, allowing them to interact using a screenless interface.

Read: The 'Humane Ai Pin', And How It Promotes An AI-Powered, Screenless Future