A morning with the Rabbit R1: a fun, funky, unfinished AI gadget

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses the Rabbit R1, an AI-powered device designed by Teenage Engineering, which was one of the biggest stories at CES. It provides an overview of the device's hardware specifications, user experience, and capabilities, as well as the author's thoughts and impressions after using the R1.

🙋 Q&A

[01] Hardware and Design

1. What are the key hardware specifications of the Rabbit R1?

• The Rabbit R1 is about 3 inches tall and wide, and 0.5 inches thick, weighing 115 grams.
• It has a 2.88-inch screen, a 2.3GHz MediaTek MT6765 processor, 128GB of storage, and 4GB of RAM.
• It has a speaker on the back, two microphones on the top, a SIM card slot, and a USB-C charging port.
• The device comes in a single color, a "leuchtorange" or "luminous orange" hue.

2. How does the Rabbit R1's design compare to a traditional smartphone?

• The author describes the R1 as a "Picasso painting of a smartphone," with the parts laid out differently than a typical smartphone.
• The camera is located in a cutout space on the right side of the device, allowing it to spin and face both towards and away from the user.

3. What is the overall impression of the Rabbit R1's hardware and design?

• The author finds the R1 to be "silly and fun," with a design that feels like a cross between an old-school MP3 player and a fidget spinner.
• The hardware is described as not particularly high-end, but the device feels satisfying to use, with a stiffly spinning wheel and a satisfying main action button.

[02] Software and Capabilities

1. What are the initial setup steps for the Rabbit R1?

• After connecting the R1 to Wi-Fi, the user is prompted to sign up for an account on the Rabbithole web portal and sync the device.
• The user then needs to log in to the four external services the R1 currently connects to: Spotify, Uber, DoorDash, and Midjourney.

2. How does the Rabbit R1's AI performance compare to ChatGPT?

• The R1 performs well with basic AI questions, providing good information on topics like the NFL draft and historical facts.
• However, there is noticeable lag as the device fetches answers, which the author prefers over the "interminable" delays of the Humane AI Pin.

3. What are the limitations of the Rabbit R1's current capabilities?

• The R1 cannot perform tasks like sending emails or creating spreadsheets, despite Lyu's previous demonstrations.
• The Rabbithole web portal is described as "woefully unfinished," with issues like a delayed cursor response.
• The R1's music playback capabilities are limited, as it struggled to find the user's Spotify playlists and had trouble playing specific songs.
• The device's camera-based "Vision" feature can only list objects in a scene, without the ability to take photos or videos.

4. What is the Rabbit R1's roadmap and future plans?

• Lyu has discussed ambitious plans for the R1, including the addition of learning apps and the ability to use accessories like keyboards.
• However, for now, the R1's feature set is more straightforward, focused on tasks like music playback, answering questions, translation, note-taking, and ride-hailing.
• The author is curious to see how the R1 handles more complex tasks, battery life, connectivity issues, and heat management in the future.