Western publications have released reviews of Humane AI Pin. This is a compact projector from former Apple employees who should be planning a smartphone replacement.
But the revolution did not happen. In fact, it turned out to be an unusual, expensive and of little use gadget.
As usual, first things first.
1. Edge
Is it worth buying this item? Never.
From a hardware perspective, the AI Pin is actually quite impressive. It’s smaller than it looks. It’s not heavy (weighs about 55 grams, like a car key fob), but durable. The case is made with considerations and calculations to withstand a fall.
The AI Pin must be worn on your chest. This makes it easier to reach. In addition, the microphones are configured in such a way that it is best to hear speech in such places, the speaker is directed upward, and the camera is slightly downward. But if desired, the AI Pin can be used while holding it in your hand or while charging.
To activate the AI Pin, you need to touch the touchpad, after which you can speak a command. There is no active word here.
Double-tap with two fingers on the touchpad to take a photo, and holding two fingers on the pad will start recording video.
AI Pin can start questions using ChatGPT, check phone calls, take photos, send text messages, tell you what’s nearby, and more. However, AI Pin cannot enable timer, timer, or calendar events. But the company promises to add these features in the summer.
Every time AI Pin tries to do something, it has to process your request through Humane’s servers. At best, this happens very slowly, at the very heart – the request is interrupted. At my request, in the evening, when I tried to call something, he simply did not call. The day before when I received a call, AI Pin sent the call straight to voicemail without even saying the call. After many days of testing, I can truly rely on AI Pin – it’s a timing test.
Battery life also leaves much to be desired. The AI Pin kit includes two charging boosters, a charging case, and the charger itself. You will actively use all of this. During intensive testing, I used up both boosters and the smaller internal AI Pin battery in a day.
The device itself costs $699, plus you have to pay $24 each month for a cellular subscription. But AI Pin isn’t worth all that money.
Artificial intelligence gadgets could be great someday. But today is not today, and AI Pin is not that product.
2. Engadget
I don’t even know what it is, really.
I was at a loss when I thought of explaining to my friends what a humane AI Pin is. The best description for now is that it’s a combination of a portable Siri button with an electrical shutdown and an electrical projector that shines into the palm of your hand.
When the AI Pin and verification identified me correctly, the response usually took a few seconds. During this time, I could get the same result on my smartphone. Some answers were too long or inappropriate.
When I asked: “Should I watch The Hero of Our Dreams?”he replied: The Hero of Our Dreams is a 2023 comedy/fantasy film starring Nicolas Cage that has positive ratings on IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, and Metacritic. It is available to watch on platforms such as YouTube, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video. If you like comedy and fantasy genres, it might be worth a watch.”.
Leaving aside the fact that the answer to my question came after a large number of useless preambles, I did not receive such a recommendation. He didn’t give a direct answer. His answer was no different from the top of Google. I would get more information if I found the movie on my smartphone because I would be able to see the actual scores on Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic.
AI Pin has an object detection feature in beta. But when I asked him to tell me what was on my kitchen island, nothing happened. Every time I received answers in style “Your AI Pin is not sure what you mean” or “This question does not apply to AI Pin”.
When I took a photo and asked to describe what it depicted, I received the following answer: “Your A.I. Pin cannot view or describe images”.
It turned out that for this function to work, you need to ask questions that begin with the word “Look.” In this case, AI Pin can recognize objects and produce excellent results. For example, when I showed the highlighter and asked what to do with it, AI Pin gave the correct answer: “BYBI Beauty’s Carry On 2 cream can be used to give your skin a natural glow”. But he didn’t say that it had to be carried on a casing.
Humane’s ChatGPT-based AI seems unprepared. He looks like a robot pretending to be smart. He wants to show that he knows a lot, but cannot give a direct answer.
I’m most intrigued by the “innovative laser ink light” that projects green beams into the palm of your hand, as well as the gestures that let you interact with “on-screen” elements. But my initial surprise quickly gave way to disappointment and pain in my shoulder. When using AI Pin you should always keep your hand steady.
In addition, a small image is projected onto the palm. Each time I saw about seven lines of text and one to three words on each line. Another problem is that I have a small palm that cannot accommodate the entire projection, so messages constantly need to be scrolled.
On the street it will be very difficult for you to make out the projection. Even on a cloudy and rainy day in New York, I could barely make out the words on my hands.
The AI Pun camera can take decent pictures, but only in good lighting. In the dark you can forget about it. Even my 2012 Nokia E7 takes clearer photos.
Unfortunately, the device gets very hot when you use the camera frequently. Sometimes the camera won’t start until the AI Pin cools down.
3. Wired
This sensor-controlled wearable second brain is too simple and not all that useful.
AI Pin does not always provide clear answers. When the picture of the temple appeared on the TV, my father asked where it was. I brought the AI Pin to the screen and the story: “Look and tell me where this photo is from”. Answer: Angkor Wat in Cambodia. I had no particular reason to doubt this, but since the AI Pin does not have a screen, it is impossible to verify this. I launched Google Lens on my phone, pointed the camera at the screen and got the answer – Phraya Nakhon Cave in Thailand. The Google image matched the delivery perfectly.
Everything you do with Ai Pin is saved in the cloud and on the Humane Center website. Here you can see the photos and videos you took. But they only appear in high definition when the AI Pin is connected to Wi-Fi and charging.
The Humane laser projector will never be a reliable method of interacting with a gadget. He is too sensitive and behind in navigation. Once the projection appears on your hand, you will have to strike in a circular motion, tilting your hand to scroll through the icons until you get to the one you want to select. But if you tilt your palm too much, the AI Pin will pass by the desired icon. It’s just annoying.
I had strange problems when I asked the AI Pin to send a message. You’d think that if I say “Edit Post” followed by someone’s name, the next question would be what the post is, right? No, Humane Ai Ping asked me if I wanted to send an “Edit Message” to my friend as if I were some kind of mafia boss ordering a thug to hit someone. Instead, you need to be more talkative: “Tell Chris I’ll be at the bachelor party,” and it worked.
Honestly, I was a little shocked when I found out that AI Pin moderates what you say in a post. When I jokingly tried to tell a friend, “You’re stupid,” the device wouldn’t send the message, citing “offensive language.” It turns out that if you want A.I. Pin sent your message verbatim, then he needs to say “I dictate.”
The problem with the AI Pin is that there is nothing else to do with it. I can’t use it to call Uber or Lyft. I can find the nearest coffee shop, but he won’t tell me how to get there. I can’t access my work calendar to see what’s on my schedule. I can make him remember something but he can’t repeat what I told him (I told him I had a meeting in town tomorrow and the next morning I asked what’s on your schedule and the AI Pin read out random text message) a message I received a week ago). I can’t even get him to share a photo of himself doing the same thing.
Every time I went outside with it, I barely used it. I asked three or four questions, partly just to try out a feature.
Humanity has potential with the AI Pin. I like that I can quickly call an assistant, but there’s nothing here right now that would make me reduce my smartphone usage. The company says that this is just version 1.0 and that many of the missing features that I know about will come later.
Source: Iphones RU
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
