The Rabbit R1, a new AI-driven digital assistant, has been launched with the ambition of rivaling smartphones.
The device, designed as a portable AI companion, aims to handle everyday digital tasks and encourage users to engage more with the real world. The Rabbit R1, characterised by its luminous orange square design, features a big screen, a button, a scroll wheel, and a front-to-back moving camera. Priced in the UK at £159 with no subscription required, it’s been attracting attention for its affordability and unique hardware features.
Despite its potential, the Rabbit R1 has faced criticism for its limited functionality. It currently supports basic tasks like telling the time, providing weather forecasts, giving directions, translating languages, and listing the top chess players of 2024. However, it lacks social media, messaging, shopping, health, and banking capabilities. Reviewers, including prominent tech critic Marques Brownlee, have labeled the device as “barely reviewable” and criticised its performance in tasks such as identifying local coffee shops and describing surroundings accurately.
Rabbit founder Jesse Lyu acknowledges the product’s shortcomings but remains optimistic about its future improvements. Industry experts, like Ben Wood from CCS Insight, predict that while AI-powered gadgets will continue to emerge, smartphones will remain dominant for the foreseeable future.
