Summary
- The Humane AI Pin falls short of futuristic promises, facing the same issues as conventional hardware despite a hefty price tag.
- Owners warned of quality issues with charging case that could lead to fires, highlighting difficulties in hardware production.
- Humane offers free subscription as compensation, but future of company uncertain as it seeks buyers amid product struggles.
The year is 2024. Every product uses artificial intelligence for some reason — promising us a glimpse of the future. You’d expect that such devices would not only solve the problems of the breed of products they intend to replace but are also significantly better. And then there are products such as the Humane AI Pin which not only falls short of the vision but also happens to face the same kind of issues that conventional hardware has had for years.
Unveiled at CES 2024 in January, the Humani AI Pin is a multi-modal wearable device that was meant to “act as a second brain and assistant”. The claimed feature set included functionality such as web searches, calls, texts, capturing photos, taking notes, and other tasks you’d normally do with your smartphone.
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Problems galore
However, when it started shipping a few weeks back in April, it was plagued with incapabilities and unfulfilled promises. Most reviews were negative and Humane barely had explanations to offer — not the experience one would expect from a $700 device of the future. Eventual developments suggested that Humane was looking for a buyer. Not, not just customers but the entire company was on sale according to reports.
As if the last few months weren’t eventful enough, today Humane emailed all AI Pin owners (via The Verge) to stop using the included charging case citing quality control issues that could lead to fires. Every purchase comes with the pin, charge case (similar to what you get for wireless earphones), desk charger, and two magnetic battery boosters. So, if you do happen to own a Humane AI Pin for some reason, you should still be able to use it, just not charge it on the go. As for what you will do with it is a whole other question.
The advisory also included some more steps taken by Humane to solve the problem. The issue has been narrowed down to the cells procured from a third-party vendor. The supplier has been disqualified and a new one is being looked for. For the inconvenience caused, all users will get a free two months of Humane subscription.
Issues like these are a reminder of how difficult hardware products can be, and why it’s so rare to see new OEMs make it big. And for nascent categories like these, the problem gets amplified further. The path ahead for Humane seems difficult so it will be interesting to see the decisions it makes in the coming months.
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