Ai Pin та iPod shuffle 4, на які нібито схожий новий гаджет OpenAI / Humane / Apple
Perhaps many people held their breath when they heard about OpenAI’s purchase of John Ive’s startup for $6.5 billion and their development of the gadget. Ming-Chi Kuo spilled a bucket of cold water on this [expected].
In words a well-known analyst of the portable devices industry, «secret» artificial intelligence gadget by John Ive and Sam Altman, is somewhat reminiscent of the iPod shuffle. It is supposedly designed to be worn on a neck rope. Mass production of the device is expected to begin in 2027, and it will allegedly be assembled in Vietnam rather than China to reduce geopolitical risks.
«The current prototype is slightly larger than the AI Pin, and its external design resembles the iPod Shuffle. The above design and specifications are subject to change before mass production», — writes Ming-Chi Kuo in X (in Chinese, so the post is at the link above).
The mention of AI Pin is interesting not only because of the size of the device but also in terms of functions and user appeal. The Humane device, although worn on clothes rather than around the neck, actually had the same concept: a gadget for using AI without a screen. When it came out, AI Pin was not very popular with reviewers and users. It was sold in only a few thousand copies, and soon Humane discontinues production and sells HP’s racks. But let’s see what the analyst has to say about the use of the new gadget.
«It will be equipped with a camera and microphone, be able to detect the external environment, and will not have a display. It is expected to connect to a mobile phone and a PC, and use the computing and display functions of the mobile phone and PC».
From the above, it is not at all clear why the gadget could not be equipped with at least a simple display instead of connecting it to third-party devices. Perhaps then it would be something like a smartphone, not a «smartphone killer». Ming-Chi Kuo tries to understand why the startup needed to buy the gadget and talk about it now.
«I think that one of the reasons why OpenAI decided to officially announce its cooperation with John Ive now may be a desire to divert the market’s attention from the recent Google I/O conference. Advantages Google ecosystems and integration of artificial intelligence into itwhich were emphasized, prevail in competition with OpenAI, so the latter uses different topics to distract the market».
However, the analyst concludes that creating a device is not such a bad idea. He quotes Alan Kay: «People who are really serious about software should build their own hardware». Obviously, this principle does not always work, but the successful Apple can be called a reference for its implementation.