The two hottest AI hardware in the world have been unveiled: Rabbit R1 was exposed to be a shell and then overturned, while Ai Pin looks like a smart watch after being dissected?

The self-proclaimed AI hardware devices always seem to be unable to escape the fate of "debuting and then failing". The new species of AI hardware, Ai Pin, has been mocked as a beautiful waste, and the Rabbit R1, which claims to dominate apps, may be a disguised Android app. The AI on the popular Ray-Ban Meta seems more like a buy-one-get-one-free bonus...

Especially the so-called native AI hardware Ai Pin and Rabbit R1, rather than being described as experimental prototypes with incomplete functionality, are more reminiscent of a hasty pursuit of profit built on concept hype, which has also appeared in popular concepts such as the metaverse and NFT in the past two years.

Recently, the globally renowned teardown organization iFixit thoroughly dissected Ai Pin and Rabbit R1 from the inside out, revealing the true face of these two recently popular AI hardware devices to the world.

Link to the teardown video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0nl\_jaSBZ0

Is Ai Pin just a smartwatch when it's peeled open?

The unsatisfactory experience of Ai Pin and Rabbit R1 has already laid the groundwork for disappointment in the hardware.

Faced with the Rabbit R1, where not even a single screw can be found on the surface, iFixit resorted to the most familiar old method - heating.

iFixit friendly reminder: Before attempting to open the back cover, don't forget to apply some isopropyl alcohol to the edges, as this will help soften the adhesive, making the opening process as smooth as peeling a banana.

After successfully opening the back cover of the Rabbit R1, the internal structure surprised iFixit. The combination of the motor and gears inside gave a steampunk style feeling.

The 3.85 watt-hour battery firmly attached to the back plate caught their attention. iFixit couldn't help but comment that if the Rabbit R1 wants to be a competent AI companion, it needs to step up its battery game.

The subsequent disassembly process was described as rough and aggressive, with screws being removed one by one, revealing components such as the camera, motor, and speaker.

iFixit accidentally discovered during the disassembly process that there is a haptic motor hidden beneath the speaker, which is closely attached to the front half of the housing. The button on the scroll wheel is actually a metal shaft that can be pulled out as a whole, making it easy to remove with a gentle pull.

Finally, iFixit conducted a meticulous inspection of the motherboard. Although the motherboard is responsible for the device's operation and processing as the "steward," the Large Action Model (LAM) is not deployed on the motherboard but runs in the cloud.

Next, Ai Pin also "couldn't escape unscathed" and underwent dual "torture" of heating and violence, revealing its internal structure to us. Upon closer inspection, you will find that its internal structure seems to have some resemblance to the Apple Watch.

Similar to Rabbit R1, the mainboard of Ai Pin is also responsible for running the device, but the processing of core data still relies on the cloud. This means that once there is no network, Ai Pin and Rabbit R1 will become mere decorations.

The battery structure of Ai Pin adopts a split design, consisting of internal and external batteries.

The internal battery uses a lithium battery design, with a capacity similar to that of the Apple Watch battery. The external battery is a magnetic clip that can be attached/clipped to the inside of clothing, allowing users to achieve all-weather operation of Ai Pin by replacing the clip at any time.

Of course, the premise is that you have to endure Ai Pin's "enthusiasm."

iFixit found it relatively difficult to dismantle the internal battery. After removing all the T2 screws, in order to avoid unnecessary damage, iFixit needs to first soften the adhesive with solvent, and then carefully remove the internal battery with only 1.087 watt-hours.

Subsequently, components such as the wireless charging coil, speaker, microphone, laser projector, and camera were also dismantled one by one.

As for the external battery, its opening method is extremely simple—just pry open the top. Once the top cover is removed, the wireless charging coil, magnet, and screws are revealed one by one.

Not surprisingly, the Ai Pin battery only has 1.79 watt-hours, not even reaching the capacity of a typical smartphone battery.

iFixit, which prioritizes repairability, specifically pointed out that the battery replacement process for these two devices is so cumbersome that it's a headache. The batteries are hidden beneath difficult-to-remove adhesive panels, making them vulnerable to mishandling during repairs.

In earlier years, the repairability law in Washington State, USA, stipulated that gluing phone batteries to the mainboard increased the difficulty of disassembly and repair, which did not align with environmental protection and reuse principles. Therefore, batteries must be removable and replaceable.

Generally, lithium batteries can support about 400 charging cycles, but for these AI hardware devices, users may not be able to use them for long before having to bid farewell to the batteries due to rapid performance decline.

Clearly, Ai Pin and Rabbit R1 have put a lot of effort into aesthetics, but they still have some way to go in terms of removable design.

It is worth mentioning that, at the end of the teardown video, iFixit bluntly commented that the birth of Ai Pin and Rabbit R1 seemed like something that could have been resolved with a simple email, but instead turned into an online conference.

The implication is that something that could have been easily handled with a simple app was needlessly complicated.

No surprises, only disappointments.

The first two seem more like scientific experiments rather than finished products, while the latter (Ray-Ban Meta) is currently the most ideal AI hardware.

Joanna Stern, an editor at The Wall Street Journal, recently concluded the above after reviewing the current top three popular AI hardware. Coincidentally, the standard recognition capability happens to be the common denominator of these AI hardware.

Three AI hardware companies have all promised that their AI hardware can use cameras to see and hear, and then try to assist users in analyzing what they see and provide answers.

At the first opportunity, Joanna Stern couldn't wait to arrange a "big test" of visual recognition for the three AI hardware devices.

Her first stop was at the Bideawee Pet Adoption Center in New York City. Here, although Ai Pin and Rabbit R1 could recognize the "furry" in front of them as a cat, when asked about the specific breed, they could only "scratch their heads and ears".

Honest Rabbit R1 admitted that he couldn't identify the specific breed, but still boldly made a guess. And Meta not only guessed the breed of the cat, but also successfully identified the breed of the puppy.

The Rabbit R1's poor battery life has been a recurring topic. In the blink of an eye, it consumes 35% of its battery, and its AI companion, which claims to last a whole day, probably can't even make it through half a day.

Joanna Stern criticized that while Ai Pin looks cool and has complex gesture controls, its outdoor-visible screen seems more designed for show than practicality.

Both Ai Pin and Rabbit R1 claim to support real-time translation in multiple languages, but in a test at the Manhattan Chinese School, a simple question like "Where is the bathroom?" caused Rabbit R1 to freeze for nearly four minutes.

In contrast, Ai Pin behaved more like a real translator when facing the same problem, until it suddenly turned into a "loyal fan" in Spanish when dealing with the question "Do the dumplings contain peanuts? I am allergic to peanuts." When Joanna Stern asked for the translation back into Chinese, Ai Pin stubbornly stuck to Spanish. However, when the waiter asked for the translation into English, Ai Pin was able to successfully complete the task.

In terms of real-time recognition, "see but can't speak" Ray-Ban Meta also encountered problems, mistaking the Chinese character "虾" for "tree", far less capable than the recognition ability of the Samsung S24 with just a snap.

In terms of daily assistance, Meta's response speed and effectiveness are the best. It can quickly provide suggestions, such as reminding users to fertilize tulips.

When Joanna Stern tried to hail a ride using the Rabbit R1, although there were some hiccups with the Uber service, it's fair to say that the vehicle eventually arrived. When Joanna Stern requested it to play Taylor Swift's new album, the Rabbit R1 played an old song from 2006 instead.

The issues that appeared in previous reviews also occurred in Joanna Stern's review, so she expressed her aspirations:

The charm of AI hardware lies in its ability to allow us to interact like humans, rather than constantly feeling frustrated by technology.

But aspirations and reality are two different things after all. Most pigs on the crest of the wave are just looking for the wave, and if they really encounter trouble, that's another story.

Take the Rabbit R1 for example, considering Apple and Google's strict control over the app stores, it's almost unlikely that they would allow an app that can freely call other apps to be listed.

Moreover, this form itself does not have much moat. Rabbit's founder, Lv Cheng, once said that creating the Rabbit R1 as an independent device was to protect its unique AI model from being easily replicated, while also making it stand out in the fierce consumer market.

In addition, in this capital market, in order to attract the attention of investors and consumers, it is always necessary to tell some fresh and complex stories to make the business of AI more appealing.

When it was released in January, Lv Cheng set a conservative target for the pre-sale of Rabbit R1—3,000 units. However, just one day later, the first batch of 10,000 Rabbit R1 units were sold out. In just three months, the sales of Rabbit R1 exceeded 100,000, becoming the hottest AI hardware in the market.

It is worth mentioning that recently, netizen @Andyparackal revealed that Rabbit, established in 2021, was originally a start-up company focused on NFT as its main business direction. It had launched a game called GAMA, which required prepayment to purchase NFT.

However, with the advent of the generative AI wave, Rabbit Company transformed itself at the end of last year and plunged into the AI hardware project, leaving a large group of existing paying users in disarray.

In response to this, Lv Cheng has also made the latest response. He has completely "broken up" with these NFT projects, and now, his heart is only with Rabbit. Regardless of the past or the future, Rabbit will never have any connection with NFT projects.

But as The Verge mentioned in the review of Rabbit R1, it seems that Rabbit R1 performs well enough, but we still need to wait for it to deliver on the promises it once "painted."

AI hardware may be the future, but as consumers, there is never a reason to pay a not-so-cheap price for a poorly executed product.