Secret startup Humane, that’s been around for five years and was created by former Apple designers Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, revealed its first product. It’s called the Humane AI Pin, and it costs $699. Instead of a smartphone, you wear this pin on your lapel.
This pin lets you do things like making calls, sending texts, and searching for information using voice commands. It even has a laser display that turns your hand into a small screen, showing things like the time, date, or what’s nearby.
Key Features and Details About Humane’s AI Pin
According to Chaudhri, “there are no wake words, so the pin isn’t always listening or recording. It stays inactive until you interact with it using your voice, touch, gestures, or the laser ink display.”
Apart from the initial cost of the device, customers will need to pay a $24 monthly data subscription to T-Mobile, according to the company. Unlike smartwatches, the pin has its own phone number, so it doesn’t need to be connected to a smartphone.
Back in March, Humane caught people’s attention by announcing a $100 million financing round from Microsoft, LG’s venture arm, and Tiger Global, all before revealing any product. In total, the company has raised over $200 million, with support from Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, and Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce.
Starting from November 16, Humane will start accepting orders for the AI Pin.
Technology Behind Humane’s AI Pin
In their Thursday video, Chaudhri and Bongiorno showcased the features of the device and talked about the technology behind it, which is driven by a Qualcomm chipset (Qualcomm Ventures is also one of the investors).
The AI Pin comes with a built-in speaker and camera. A light signals when these functions are activated. By double-tapping the pin, you can take a photo or video, and these can be seen on Humane’s web app.
Besides handling texts, the device can instantly translate spoken conversations between Spanish and English, as demonstrated in the video.
People can use AI services directly from the internet instead of downloading apps. According to the company, Microsoft, Google, OpenAI, and other companies are providing these AI services. Users can request tasks like “playing songs from famous sci-fi films” or asking for information, and the answers come from extensive language models. To access music, a Tidal subscription is necessary.
The device’s assistant can also provide summaries of the user’s daily calendar, received messages, or health information, such as asking, “How much protein have I had today?”
Conclusion
Humane’s new AI Pin, costing $699, is like a smart lapel pin that replaces your phone. It lets you do things with your voice, has a cool laser display, and doesn’t eavesdrop all the time. You also get a separate phone number. Humane got a lot of money from big companies, and you can order the AI Pin starting November 16. It’s a big step in wearable AI tech.
