The Rabbit R1 has been a huge hit: the weirdest gadget at CES 2024 sold thousands of units on its first day. It was one of the pleasant surprises. This tiny AI-powered device, which promises to run your favorite apps, was among the most innovative and quirky devices presented at the event. It is already a bestseller, which has surprised the creators themselves.

As confirmed by the developers of the gadget, 10,000 copies of the Rabbit R1 were sold on the first day of sale. This has significantly exceeded the expectations of the company founded and led by Jesse Lyuk, who aimed to sell more than 500 in the 24 hours after the announcement.

However, public interest in the Rabbit R1 has exploded, resulting in over 20 times the original target. As the company announced on its X (Twitter) account, the first batch of the device has sold out due to overwhelming demand. Of course, reservations for the second batch are now open, but buyers will have to wait a little longer to receive them.

Those who managed to get their hands on the Rabbit R1 in the first batch of 10,000 devices will start receiving it in March. While those who booked later—or now—will start their unit in April or May, the startup said.

What is the Rabbit R1 and why is it a selling frenzy?

The Rabbit R1 is a pocket-sized device that uses artificial intelligence to control your favorite apps. It is a complement to the mobile phone, rather than a replacement, and has created a lot of appeal for its design and features. The gadget has a 2.88-inch touch screen, a camera, speakers, an analog wheel to move around the graphic interface and a button to activate the microphone - as if it were a walkie-talkie - and use voice commands.

There is nothing extraordinary under the hood. It comes with a 2.3GHz MediaTek chip, 128GB of storage and 4GB of RAM. Rabbit R1 does not run apps natively, but relies on AI through Rabbit OS, a custom operating system through a natural language interface.

To take advantage of its capabilities, users simply connect their favorite apps to the Rabbit R1 via a web interface. Once you're logged in, the gadget will take care of the rest. In the introductory demo, Jesse Liu showed how the device works once linked to a Spotify account. You can ask the AI to play music or related contextual information without losing the usual controls via the touch screen.

A nicer proposal for creating a pocket AI

Rabbit's goal with R1 is to allow users to teach the artificial intelligence new tasks, or how they want to interact with certain platforms or programs. Undoubtedly, a very innovative proposal that takes a different - and nicer - approach than other projects to create a pocket AI like Humane's AI Pin.

Another crucial point in understanding the initial furore over the Rabbit R1 is its price. The device costs only $199, requires no subscription, and lets you connect to a variety of apps and services. Also, its developers claim to have a very strict privacy policy.

In addition to having access to user login credentials, it advocates responsible use of hardware. That's why the camera is physically locked when not in use, the microphone can only be activated via a physical button, and all input methods are disabled when the Rabbit R1 is resting on the screen.

Rabbit

Rabbit, an artificial intelligence startup, according to its founder Jesse Lyu, has developed a device that is designed not to replace mobile phones, although in some cases it will. It's called Rabbit R1, and it's a kind of assistant powered by a language model similar to ChatGPT, allowing users to do much more than just interact with a virtual assistant. It's also very reminiscent of Humane's AI Pin.

The Rabbit R1 stands out in many ways, including its price. The startup has confirmed that the device costs $200; high cost considering all its capabilities. Aesthetically, the Rabbit R1 is half the size of an iPhone, and its design is very minimalistic. Specifically, it has a 2.88-inch screen.

It also includes a camera that rotates to take selfies or photos and videos, as well as a scroll wheel that doubles as a button to navigate the interface or use the device's built-in assistant.

However, in the Rabbit R1, it is its software that is most unique. It has Rabbit OS, a self-developed operating system based on what the company calls "a big action model." This does not have an app, but instead acts as a universal app controller. That is, Rabbit OSr With this, users will be able to access some of the services in their favorite apps without having to go directly to them or log in. For example, they can order food to be delivered, shop, play music, make reservations, buy tickets, send messages, and more.