The Rabbit R1's AI Assistant Could Someday Replace Your Smartphone
The Rabbit R1, a device that acts as an AI-powered assistant that seeks to replace all the apps on your smartphone, was one of the most exciting and quirky devices showcased during CES 2024. Now, Rabbit has confirmed that the (sold out) first batch of devices is set to ship next week.
Starting March 31, the initial batch of Rabbit R1s will ship out to the first 10,000 people who placed preorders in Canada and the U.S., though Rabbit says the devices may take up to three weeks to reach consumers. The next batch of Rabbit R1 devices is expected to start shipping in April and May, though Rabbit hasn’t yet specified a concrete timeframe.
What is the Rabbit R1?
If this is the first time you’re hearing about the Rabbit R1, you’re not alone, and even explaining what it does is a little tricky. The Rabbit R1 functions a bit like a smartphone, offering an AI assistant that can handle asks like queuing up your music and taking photos. When you use your smartphone, you download different apps to accomplish different tasks, but the Rabbit R1's AI assistant is trained to perform those tasks for you itself. The Rabbit software is apparently even smart enough to work with some of your existing mobile apps, once you’ve shown it how to do so.
It’s an intriguing way to reimagine your mobile digital life. The Rabbit R1 is powered in part by Perplexity’s AI engine; Perplexity is yet another ChatGPT competitor, which means you’ll be able to chat with the device and ask it to do things the same way you might with ChatGPT or Google Gemini. According to The Verge, the Rabbit R1's "Large Action Model" (as opposed to ChatGPT's Large Language Model) was trained by real people interacting with various apps, "essentially showing the model how they work."
Exactly why you want to carry around another device in addition your smartphone is another question entirely. The company claims the Rabbit R1 has the potential to do just about anything, but only time will tell what kinds of things people actually do with it once they have it in hand.
If this all sounds intriguing to you, you can preorder the Rabbit R1 directly from Rabbit for $199, though you'll probably have to wait several months for delivery. You can also check out this demo from Rabbit founder Jesse Lyu to see the device in action.