Humane Launches AI Pin an Attempt to Create New Category of AI-Centric Wearables
What Is It?
Humane’s AI pin is a small, connected wearable device that has its own processing (a Qualcomm Snapdragon) and connectivity (managed by Humane, but provided by T-Mobile in the U.S.). It provides access to AI models throughout your day via voice or projecting information onto your hand. It is its own thing: it cannot replace your smartphone, but it isn’t really a smartphone companion.
The pin has a small internal battery good for up to four hours of use and attaches to your clothing using magnets in a separate battery booster segment that you place on the other side of your shirt or jacket lapel. The system comes with two of these extra batteries, and they are hot swappable with the AI pin. This simple concept may be the most revolutionary part of the AI Pin. There is no reason why hot swappable batteries can’t be incorporated into every smartphone, tablet, and XR headset.
Humane will also be selling multiple alternative magnetic mounting options for different clothing or handbag straps.
How Does It Work?
The interaction model is either voice or finger/fist gestures, with your hand acting as a projection surface for the built-in laser projector. I have no idea how Humane intends to allow for non-voice text input for when voice is not socially acceptable, or accessibility for those without fine motor control.
There are no apps for the AI pin; Humane is using streaming AI models for interaction. Early services include search, automatic live translation, Slack, and Tidal for music. There is also messaging and voice calling, and the AI can summarize incoming messages or pull specific information out of them. The camera can recognize objects for health and nutrition information. Like Amazon’s Fire phone, the AI pin can use its camera to identify objects and order them from Amazon. It can take photos and video – but there is no way to view that content until you get to a device with a web browser. A web interface is where configuration and management occurs as well.
Humane appears to be taking privacy and security seriously. The AI pin is always worn on your body, but it is not always listening or recording until you explicitly turn it on. There’s a notification light to let you know that there’s something to engage with. Once on, a “trust light” illuminates indicating when it is on/recording/listening. This is tied to a dedicated security chip that locks the device down if tampering is detected. (No word on what this means for user or third party serviceability; this looks very much like a closed box appliance.)
Price & Availability
Preorders for the Humane AI pin start November 16, with deliveries in early 2024. The device itself costs $699 which includes multiple batteries and charging accessories plus a $24/month subscription fee for connectivity. This includes unlimited talk, text, and data; online storage for all photos and videos taken with the AI pin; and no limits on the number of AI queries.
Humane has not provided any insight into whether the AI pin will be offered outside the U.S. T-Mobile has network roaming agreements in nearly every country; presumably Humane’s service could offer roaming as well, but this too has not been disclosed.
Analysis
Analysts have not been given the opportunity to test the AI pin ahead of launch, so until I get hands on, I can analyze the potential for a device like the AI pin in the abstract, but I can’t judge Humane’s claims.
The Humane AI pin will not replace smartphones. It can't. People depend on banking and rideshare and video and visual social media apps on their phones; none of these crucial apps and services can be duplicated on a screenless devices with a voice and gesture interface. That’s OK, literally nothing is likely to displace the smartphone in the next decade or two, and likely much longer: a pocketable touchscreen with computing, imaging, and connectivity is simply too useful and entrenched to be displaced. The question is whether Humane does enough different and useful things that justify wearing and paying for it in addition to a smartphone. In many ways, this is the same challenge that all wearables have, especially XR/spatial computing. Humane made a conscious decision to use a separate processor, modem, and subscription rather than creating a lower powered Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or UWB accessory that works with an app on your smartphone. That choice impacts pricing, but it could allow for a differentiated user experience, which is the whole point of Humane.
Smartphones are about to get a lot of AI experiences, but Humane believes that it can deliver on AI’s promise in a different – it would argue better – way. The AI pin is very much a "how it does it" product, not just "what it does." More seamless digital experiences will be key for wearables of all kinds, whether they are mounted on your face, attached to your clothing, or placed on your wrist. It remains an open question whether AI is sufficiently useful to drive new product categories today, or whether it is too early. Even if the AI capabilities are ready, we will need hands-on time to determine how good Humane’s interface model is. Voice-driven interfaces are famously opaque; I not only have questions about what the AI pin can do, but how I’ll know that it can do it. That's why the Humane pedigree justifiably gets a lot of attention; many of its executives and engineers are ex-Apple employees, including people who specialized in key elements of the iPhone's user experience.
However, if the AI is ready, the experiences are compelling, and Humane has nailed the interface, then pricing is not a key concern. The cost + subscription model is fine for early adopters and it can always be changed if it doesn't work. Remember, Apple initially sold the iPhone without carrier subsidies, and charged AT&T a per-user fee. That was scrapped mere months after launch.
Competition
Smartphone platform incumbents and key OEMs like Samsung don’t have to worry about Humane stealing sales from smartphones directly; even if the AI pin becomes wildly successful it won’t be a substitute, but it could slow the smartphone upgrade cycle. However, regardless of how well Humane does in the market with its initial product, Apple, Google, and Android licesees should be looking at Humane’s AI use cases and user experiences and borrowing liberally from the ideas that work. Some of what Humane is delivering on the chest is equally useful on the wrist. Some of it should be part of the phone UX. And if this form factor does prove popular, a badge accessory that integrates with the phone from that phone’s maker — rather than a distinct entity — has its own advantages.
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