Everyone hated the Rabbit R1. They were right, but now they’re wrong

When the Rabbit R1 came out, everyone hated it. It was a $200 AI gadget desperately searching for a reason to exist, and unfortunately, the features promised didn’t really work.

It was slow, annoying to use, and worst of all, pointless. Many who bought one felt like it was a cruel joke, as the majority of things it was supposed to do weren’t even available.

Well, a lot has changed, and the Rabbit R1 is very different from when it launched. It’s better, and an interesting example of what happens when you release a product too soon, and how early opinions really matter.

Was it really that bad?

No, it was worse

The Rabbit R1’s hardware was never a problem. The bright orange block manages to look both futuristic and fun, the rotating scroll wheel is tactile, and the motorized camera gives the R1 character.

The issue was with the software and its functionality. I bought the R1 at launch, and it did almost nothing at all.

The things it could manage were useless, especially compared to Google Gemini and other AI chatbots at the time, and its promised assistant features, such as booking taxis or ordering food, usually didn’t work.

Reviews scoring the Rabbit R1 as a one or two-out-of-ten were absolutely correct. The only feature that was vaguely fun was the Magic Camera, where photos were re-imagined by the AI, but even that was awkward and slow to use.

However, Rabbit didn’t just send the R1 out into the world and forget all about it. The company has been steadily updating the software, and has largely pivoted away from the whole AI assistant feature set.

The R1 is different now. Better different.

New software makes all the difference

Fluid and speedy

Rabbit released its RabbitOS 2 software in September 2025, more than a year after the device’s original launch.

It uses a logical card-based system to navigate through the menu, the touchscreen experience has been overhauled, and the emphasis has shifted away from assistant duties, to using the Rabbit Intern AI agent to do, well, a lot more things than before.

The redesigned software really suits the hardware. It’s colorful and fun, and crucially, it makes it simpler to understand what the little box can do as each card represents a feature.

RabbitOS 2 introduced Creations, which adds vibe coding to the R1 through a conversation with the Rabbit Intern.

This has opened up opportunities for the Rabbit community to create small apps for the R1, many of which are available for free through Rabbit’s site, and examples are often found in the healthy Rabbit R1 subreddit.

Creations are easy to install using a QR code, and it’s a seamless, simple experience.

What can it do now?

More than before

I’ve had fun with simple games on the R1, from a Breakout-style brick breaker game to a bullet hell-style shoot ‘em up.

Voice response for the AI chatbot has been dramatically improved, and I’ve had actual conversations with the R1.

For example, we’ve talked about TV shows, and it has made recommendations. It has found where the shows are streaming, how much services cost, and contextually understands as you talk, meaning you can speak to it naturally.

There are other features, too, such as a translator, voice recorder, timers, and alarms, but nothing much you can’t already do with your phone.

The real-time, on-device vibe coding does set it apart from a phone, though, and I prefer the experience of speaking to the R1 than Gemini on my phone. Still, it’s nowhere near as conversational or natural in its responses.

Magic Camera is still a highlight, but you must manually activate the ability to save them in the Magic Gallery on the device, likely to save storage space.

Otherwise, they’re uploaded to the Rabbithole website, where you’ll find the original and the re-imagined version. You can see a selection of examples below, and look out for the rabbit which makes an appearance in each one.

While you’re down the Rabbithole, you can also see all your voice interactions with the R1 and work with the Intern on coding projects.

There’s quite a lot more to dig into as well, from creating AI interfaces and individual voice profiles, to a pre-installed game where you can earn special versions of the animated rabbit character that lives on the home screen.

Owners who try RabbitOS 2 and still don’t like it can even replace it with Android.

So, it’s worth buying now?

Well, kind of

My Rabbit R1 was so useless at launch that it has sat untouched in an office drawer since then.

Now, the Rabbit R1 with RabbitOS 2 is an entirely different device, and anyone who bought one today should actually find things to do with it. That’s very different from how it was at launch.

However, it’s still very much a gadget for tinkerers.

The battery life is also a downside, and if you use the Creations or the Intern, expect it to rapidly deplete. The voice assistant doesn’t use much energy, but even when the R1 is in standby, the battery runs down pretty quickly.

Then there’s the cost.

If you want to use it out and about, you’ll need a SIM card and data plan, and now there’s a new subscription plan for those who want to use the Intern.

It comes with three vibe-coded “tasks,” but an additional three cost $30. This price includes publishing and hosting of your Creation, and the ability to use tasks for follow-ups on your Creation.

Alternatively, you can pay a whopping $100 per month (or $840 per year) for 30 tasks per month. That’s all on top of the $200 you’ll spend on the device, although because the Rabbit R1’s reputation is so poor, you can often find used models for sale at a cheaper price.

Reputation matters

And it sticks

The Rabbit R1 was a product in search of an audience, with a series of “functions” which either didn’t work or were of passing interest at best.

It wasn’t really ready for release, and calling early adopters beta testers was almost too kind.

It was quickly lumped in with the Humane AI Pin, the other AI gadget of 2024, which disappointed everyone.

Unfortunately, that kind of terrible reputation sticks, and the Rabbit R1 has stuck in everyone’s mind as promising hardware with software that failed to live up to expectations, and is often used as an example of how AI is over-hyped.

Using RabbitOS 2 and the R1 today is fascinating. If it had launched like this, I think it would have been far better received.

No, I don’t think normal people should rush out and buy it, as it’s still so niche. Still, those who do won’t be so disappointed. Not only are there clear reasons to buy, but it actually works.

What about the future?

There’s a new Rabbit coming

It’s great to see a company stick with a product, update it, and genuinely make it better. Especially when it had to deal with such a strong backlash at launch.

Rabbit has clearly learned from the experience, but has it learned enough?

The company’s pivot away from assistant duties to agentic vibe-coding on the R1 still follows current AI trends, which may not be a sensible long-term strategy, but at least it does what it says this time.

The trouble is, I wonder how many people will care, given the R1’s awful reputation. I also wonder how many people will see enough value to spend $100 per month vibe-coding very simple apps for it.

All this will impact the company’s follow-up product, which it has teased is in development, and may come out in 2026. RabbitOS 2 and Rabbit’s commitment to long-term support makes me more receptive to the idea of a Rabbit R2 than I would have been just a few months ago. Surely, Rabbit is unlikely to make the same mistakes again?

If you’ve been oddly tempted by a Rabbit R1, but have never purchased because of all the deserved negativity, it’s worth knowing that it’s a very different product today. Provided you know what you’re getting into, there’s a little bit of fun to be had with an R1 in late 2025.