The Rabbit R1 may look like a Tamagotchi from the TV series Severance, but it could also be the first credible alternative to the super-dominant iOS/Android paradigm for mobile devices.
Why is the Rabbit R1 AI the most exciting thing since the iPhone?
The R1 is what you’d imagine a pocket computer to be if you’d never seen a smartphone before. You simply tell it what you want it to do, and it does it, formatting the results into a beautifully simple map on the unit’s tiny screen. And it can work with almost any app out there because it uses AI to interact with it, like a human with infinite patience.
“The Big Action model promises a more intuitive, voice- and AI-centric interaction, representing a shift away from the traditional screen-centric paradigm. This shift could potentially reduce screen time and make technology more accessible to a wider audience, including users with visual impairments or tech literacy challenges,” Brian Prince, founder and CEO of AI education platform Top AI Tools, told Lifewire via email.
Designed in collaboration with Teenage Engineering, the R1 is almost entirely voice-controlled and doesn’t run any apps. Instead, you press the side button to give it instructions, as if you were talking into a walkie-talkie. Judging from the demo video, it’s fast and scarily accurate at understanding your commands.
