Humane launches innovative screenless AI Pin device: details and features

We have already written that Humane presented its first AI Pin gadget. Former Apple executives positioned the gadget as a personal assistant based on artificial intelligence that would replace smartphones and smart glasses at the same time. Today we will tell you more about the project and its authors.

AI Pin is the first product of Humane, a company founded by Imran Chaudhry and Bethany Bongiorno. They worked at Apple for a long time. Imran was responsible for the design of the Macintosh, iPod, iPad, Apple Watch, and iPhone, and Bethany was the director of software development.

AI Pin is a pocket-sized device that is intended to become a kind of personal assistant with artificial intelligence. It is attached to clothing with a magnet, and all commands are entered using voice or gestures that are recorded by the mini-projector. The Pin itself weighs about 34 grams, and the “battery booster” adds another 20 grams. The built-in camera takes 13-megapixel photos and shoots video.

The smartphone has no screen, is available in 3 colors, and will cost from $699.

AI Pin presentation

No screen interface or programs – how AI Pin works

AI Pin has several rather non-standard technical solutions. “Ai Pin is the embodiment of our vision of integrating artificial intelligence into the fabric of everyday life, enhancing our capabilities without overshadowing our humanity,” Chaudhry said in a statement. This is probably a way of using it that offers an alternative to the smart glasses that Meta and Google are currently actively developing. Chaudhry also said that “the future is not in the face.”

In fact, Humane is trying to get rid of the interface. The device will not have a main screen, and all information will be displayed on the palm of a person’s hand using a projector. Also, Pin will not have many settings and accounts to manage. The idea is that you can simply tell Pin what you need or make the desired hand gesture.

In her presentation, Bethany Bongiorno noted that Humane does not create programs for AI Pin. Its operating system, called Cosmos, is designed to automatically direct your requests to the right tools, rather than asking you to download and manage programs. AI Pin mainly uses GPT-4 for this purpose, but also other neural networks, the details of which are not yet available.

AI Pin also performs classic phone functions. For a $24 per month subscription fee, you get the ability to make calls, cloud storage for photos and videos, and the ability to make unlimited queries to AI models.

AI Pin hardware: technical characteristics of the device

It is currently unknown how long AI Pin can operate on a single battery, but the device comes with two “amplifiers”. The gadget is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and uses a camera, depth sensors, and motion sensors to track and record the environment. It has a built-in speaker, which Humane calls a “personal speaker,” and can connect to Bluetooth headphones.

AI Pin can only be activated manually by pressing the touch panel. The rest of the time, the device is inactive, meaning it does not record or even listen to the wake-up word. There is also a special panel on the device called the “Trust Indicator” that flashes to let you and probably everyone else know that it is collecting data (camera or microphone is on).

What features does AI Pin have and will it become an alternative to smartphones?

Among the features described at the presentation, AI Pin can write messages with a style similar to yours, and there is a function that summarizes your email inbox. PIN can also translate languages and identify food to provide information about it, and has an “artificial intelligence DJ” – it cooperates with the Tidal streaming service.

It seems that Humane clearly wants Pin to be an autonomous and simple gadget. The company also announced Humane.center, where you can customize your device to your needs. Although it is unclear whether this is a website or an app, it seems that Humane sees AI Pin as the beginning of a larger project.

Her (2013) – Humane (2023)

10 years from concept to reality. pic.twitter.com/T5rOzsMAD7

– Smoke-away (@SmokeAwayyy) November 10, 2023

The device will be available for pre-order starting November 16, currently only in the US.