Recap of 2024's Major Hardware Failures
As a tech journalist, the start of a year is always filled with excitement and anticipation. This was precisely the scene in a presentation hall in Las Vegas during CES 2024. The launch of R1 by Rabbit, led by CEO Jesse Lyu, promised to solve all our AI needs. It was a miniature intelligent device that could answer questions and even book an Uber ride for you. The story of R1 on the internet spread like wildfire, making it the highlight of CES, and boosting its sales to 100,000 units within two months.
The Most Anticipated Products of the Year
In the wake of the R1’s success, we saw Apple's Vision Pro, a $3,499 mixed-reality headset, released. Designed to offer an escape from reality with multiple hovering screens for watching movies, playing games or even conducting office work digitally. Next came Humane's Ai Pin, a wearable AI assistant.
However, one common aspect that marred these highly anticipated ventures was the eventual failure shortly after their respective launch.
Critical Failure: Humane's Ai Pin
The Ai Pin didn't deliver as per expectations, and was even reported to have malfunctioned and overheated, resulting in poor reviews and consumer dissatisfaction. It reached a point where more Ai Pins were being returned than bought. Humane is now looking to recover by offering its CosmOS operating system to third parties for use in smart cars and speakers, though no significant progress has been noted.
Reality Check: Rabbit’s R1
Just like Ai Pin, R1 was also heavily critiqued for its performance – or lack thereof. Turns out, the software powering this device was a basic Android application, and it couldn’t deliver on its promised features. R1 also received flak for some serious security issues that further damaged its reputation.
Deflated Expectations: Vision Pro
Vision Pro, despite having an impressive design and immersive experience, couldn't elude the fate of its peers. According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple suffered a significant drop in shipments, from approximately 800,000 units to a mere 450,000, a few months after its launch. While Vision Pro's hardware and software were impressive, the extremely high cost and poor consumer reception to wearing headsets made it a complicated sell.
The Aftermath
Despite their initial failures and poor customer feedback, these products persist. Bug fixes and feature improvements continue to roll out in an attempt to mend these flawed creations. Here’s to hoping that the teams behind these products finally deliver on their initial promises.
Retesting the Flops
To give these products a fair chance, I geared up for another hands-on session with each of them. To surmise, I had an improved working experience with the Vision Pro; experienced improvements and new features on the Humane Ai Pin, albeit still bothersome; and Rabbit's R1 that looked as good as before but further accentuated the software flaws.
While Google and Samsung's announcement of Android XR promises more affordable mixed-reality headsets in 2025, brands like Apple, Rabbit, and Humane need to learn from their failures and bounce back with devices that are user-friendly, affordable, and live up to their hype.
