Search the Community

On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss CES 2024, Samsung's S24 lineup, and the latest news surrounding Apple's Vision Pro headset. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos We take a look at some of the latest advancements in TV technology, including transparent models from LG, and AI assistants like Rabbit R1. We also look at some of the tentpole features of Samsung's new Galaxy S24 lineup, such as a 50-megapixel telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom and a wave of AI tools designed for enhancing photography and videography, editing text, and more. Following Apple's announcement of the impending launch of the Vision Pro headset on February 2, we discuss the device's potential to redefine the AR/VR space, especially in the context of productivity workflows. We also address potential concerns regarding comfort and design, storage configurations, and our sense of anticipation about the device's launch. The MacRumors Show is now exclusively on its own YouTube channel, so make sure you're subscribed to keep up with new episodes and clips going forward: Subscribe to The MacRumors Show's new YouTube channel! You can also listen to ‌The MacRumors Show‌ on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, or your preferred podcasts app. You can also copy our RSS feed directly into your podcast player. If you haven't already listened to the previous episode of The MacRumors Show, catch up for our look forward at all of Apple's biggest rumored announcements for 2024. Subscribe to ‌The MacRumors Show‌ for new episodes every week, where we discuss some of the topical news breaking here on MacRumors, often joined by interesting guests like Kevin Nether, Jared Nelson, Eli Hodapp, Luke Miani, Mike Bell, Sara Dietschy, iJustine, Jon Rettinger, Andru Edwards, Arnold Kim, Ben Sullins, Marcus Kane, Christopher Lawley, Frank McShan, David Lewis, Tyler Stalman, Jon Prosser, Sam Kohl, Quinn Nelson, John Gruber, Federico Viticci, Thomas Frank, Jonathan Morrison, Ross Young, Ian Zelbo, and Rene Ritchie. ‌The MacRumors Show‌ is on X @MacRumorsShow, so be sure to give us a follow to keep up with the podcast. You can also head over to The MacRumors Show forum thread to engage with us directly. Remember to rate and review the podcast, and let us know what subjects and guests you would like to see in the future.Tag: The MacRumors Show This article, "The MacRumors Show: Apple Vision Pro Pre-Orders, CES 2024, and Samsung's New AI Phones" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Every January, the Las Vegas convention centers are full to the brim with exciting new tech for CES, and that’s no different for CES 2024. And what tech is more exciting than the best VR headsets and AR glasses? We scoured CES 2024 for the best VR and AR tech announcements. We drove in AR-powered cars, tested a bunch of different glasses, and even subjected ourselves to a haptic suit. It was all worth it, though, to find five fantastic gadgets for this CES 2024 round-up. If you want to check out more of the awesome tech showcased at CES, we’ve got a guide to the 20 best gadgets of CES 2024 and the best wearable and fitness tech of CES 2024. 1. New Qualcomm XR2+ chip This isn’t a VR headset, and, technically, it was revealed before CES, but we’re including it here because Qualcomm gave us a more in-depth look at the Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 at the Las Vegas tech convention. This chipset is going to feature in a number of the best VR headsets we see released in the next few years. (Image credit: Qualcomm) This powerful successor to the XR2+ Gen 1 found in the Meta Quest Pro will power the next generation of enterprise headsets. This includes the Samsung VR headset being developed in partnership with Google. In practical terms, the chipset can support displays up to 4.3K resolution per eye running at 90Hz, boasts a 2.5x better GPU performance than the XR2 Gen 2 found in the Meta Quest 3, and has 8x better AI performance. It can also support Wi-Fi 7 and full-color mixed reality passthrough. Qualcomm is currently the name in the XR chipset game, and we expect the XR2+ Gen 2 will only further cement its position. And it might help rival XR gadgets prove they're just as capable as the Apple Vision Pro. 2. Asus AirVision M1 glasses Speaking of Apple, this year’s CES prize for the gadget that sounds most like a knockoff Apple product goes to the AirVision M1 glasses from Asus. (Image credit: Asus) The name might be reminiscent of the Vision Pro – sprinkling in aspects of the iPad Air and Apple’s M1 chipset found in some iPads and Macbooks – but is almost completely unrelated to Apple’s hardware. The only minor similarity is that these specs are a wearable AR display. The Asus glasses don’t function on their own; you need to plug them into a compatible phone or computer with a USB-C display port (meaning it can output video and audio through USB-C). These kinds of gadgets are admittedly a lot of fun, but our experience with them is that they’re still pretty pricey for what you get. The resolution is only full-HD, and you often need to buy several not-so-optional add-ons to get the most out of your experience – raising the price above the usual $400 / £400 / AU$600 price you already pay for smart spectacles. We haven’t yet tried the Asus AirVision M1 glasses – nor do we know what regions they’ll be available in or when the launch date is – so we’ll reserve judgment on them for now. But if you’re after a pair of specs that lives up to what you expect from “AR glasses” the next item on this list might be a better pick. 3. Xreal Air 2 Ultra (Image credit: Xreal) Xreal makes some of our favorite smart glasses – you can find out more about the AR specs it made before in our Xreal Air review and Xreal Air 2 Pro review – and at CES 2024, it debuted something that promises to be even better than what we’ve seen from it in the past. The Xreal Air 2 Ultra goes beyond simply projecting an AR screen in your real-world space like its predecessors. It’s a proper spatial computer complete with a camera – so the device can track your hands and identify real-world objects that virtual elements can interact with. However, while the glasses sound a lot like the Apple Vision Pro there’s one downside – you need an external device to power them. Specifically, Xreal lists only the Samsung Galaxy S22, the Samsung Galaxy S23, and a “custom computing unit” that is yet to be released as the gadgets fit for the job. If you aren’t interested in spatial computing you could use them as a wearable full-HD display for any gadget with a USB-C display port. On the flip side, even if you buy a new Samsung phone, you could get a whole Xreal spatial computing package for around $1,000 / £1,100 if you can find a Galaxy S22 on sale. This is less than a third of the price of the $3,499 Apple Vision Pro – though it is a lot pricier than the $499.99 / £479.99 / AU$799.99 Meta Quest 3. We don’t yet know how well this Air 2 Ultra experience compares to its rivals, but if it can deliver a solid experience Xreal could be on to a winner. 4. AR glasses in a car My ride. (Image credit: Future) BMW has been finding ways to bring XR tech to cars for a while. We’ve previously seen its efforts to bring VR offices and entertainment on your travels so car passengers can do more with their journey, but its CES 2024 demo centered on drivers. Thanks to a pair of Xreal Air 2 glasses, we saw AR directions that guided us through the streets of Las Vegas (for the demo, we were in the passenger seat while someone else drove). We could also see warnings about upcoming potholes, stop signs, and how much charge the electric vehicle had left. This was all just a very well-made research pilot to help inform the future of driving tech. But the BMW AR experience sold us on the idea, so we hope this kind of tech isn’t too far from being more than just a prototype. 5. Sony’s enterprise headset (Image credit: Siemens) Most people think of entertainment when they think of VR, but there’s a huge push to bring more XR gadgets to industry – a trend that the newly announced Sony XR headset continues. Created in partnership with Siemens, the device is designed to help companies bring more stages of production – in particular, design and prototyping – into the metaverse. Using the headset, they can produce and analyze 3D models of their designs and diagnose any issues before investing in real-world prototypes. In general, the headset looks pretty standard, but it does feature an odd pair of handsets. One is a more traditionally shaped VR controller, while the other is a ring. The advantages of this setup are that you have a hand free to more easily interact with real-world objects, and you can get hands-on with virtual objects while still having the convenience of buttons on a controller. There’s not much more to say about the headset for now, but given its standalone design maybe it’ll pave the way for a successor to the PSVR 2 headset that’s no longer tethered to a PlayStation console. You might also like... 6 new things we've learned about the Apple Vision Pro from its first video adHow the Vision Pro's external display could evolveWhat to expect from the Apple Vision Pro 2 View the full article

CES 2024 is over, and what have we learned? Well, mainly not to put our hands in wearable ovens or indecently expose ourselves in smart showers. But also, some more serious lessons about where tech is headed in 2024. Yes, this year's CES gave us some fascinating glimpses of how gadgets could change our lives this year – and we've rounded up all of those flashes of insight below. In short, it's going to be another fun, eventful year in tech. There'll be some slight annoyances – for example, ChatGPT being shoehorned into absolutely everything, and manufacturers tempting us with massive TVs that we can't really afford. But there'll also be some exciting shifts, from the arrival of the first proper AI hardware to the emergence of Bluetooth Auracast and neural headphones. As fun as they are, we've shied away from some of CES 2024's more exuberant flourishes like transparent TVs and personal robots in our list below. Instead, you'll find a list of all the trends and technologies that are likely to have a genuine impact on your tech life in 2024 – for better or worse. So take a break from your floundering tech resolutions for a moment and join us on a ride through this year's biggest tech trends, as predicted by CES... 1. Mini-LED TVs are about to get massive... (Image credit: TCL) TV are always one of the biggest stories of CES and one of the big trends this year was truly massive mini-LED models. TCL, which revealed that its ultra-large TV category grew 600% in 2023, showed off a monstrous 115-inch mini-LED model at CES called the QM891G, while its new QM8 TVs will be available in sizes ranging from 75-98 inches. Not to be outdone, Hisense fought back with a 110-inch model in its premium ULED X lineup (with an eye-searing 10,000 nits of peak brightness). But the good news for our wallets is that these increasingly vast mini-LED sets are also likely to be (relatively) affordable this year, certainly compared to OLED. On that theme, Hisense also revealed that'll be launching a 100-inch regular QLED model in 2024 – which, if history is any guide, should be temptingly affordable for its size. Read more: TCL wows CES with a 115-inch mini-LED TV with 20,000 dimming zones 2. ...and OLED TVs will get much brighter (Image credit: LG ) Not to be outshone by their feisty mini-LED and microLED rivals, OLED TVs were also bigging up their credentials at CES 2024 – and this year, we're likely to see them get much brighter. The most obvious example was the new LG C4, which we discovered is indeed much brighter than last year's C3, despite both sets using the same core OLED panel. This boost comes from both improved processing and a redesigned micro lens array (MLA). And that isn't the only upgrade OLEDs will get in 2024 – the new Samsung S95D has a 'Glare Free' display that impressed us so much that we said called it "a reason to choose the flagship if you have a bright room". If you need a new TV, it's likely to be a very good year to upgrade. Read more: I saw the LG C4 OLED TV in action, and the brightness boost is very realRead more: Samsung S95C review: a brighter, better OLED TV that looks great from any angle 3. Qi2 wireless charging will finally go mainstream (Image credit: Satechi) CES 2024 may have delivered its dose of wacky ideas like wearable ovens, but it was also about the dawn of useful new tech standards – and one of those is Qi2 wireless chargers. This is very good news for smartphones, in particular Android phones, as Qi2 supports a minimum of 15W charging, the same as Apple MagSafe. Unfortunately, we're still waiting for smartphones (other than the iPhone 15 series) to arrive with Qi2 support. But when they inevitably do this year, CES 2024 has ensured that we won't be short of wireless chargers to choose from. There were several Qi2 products flaunting their wares at the show, with our pick being Satechi's folding 3-in-1 model (above). It'll be available to buy for $130 (around £105 / AU$195) when it goes on sale in Q2 (sometime between March and May). 11 genius accessories from CES 2024: from AI fitness headphones to infrared hairdryers 4. Bluetooth Auracast will change headphones (Image credit: Bluetooth SIG) Like Qi2 charging, Bluetooth Auracast was another tech standard that had its breakout moment CES 2024. We were so impressed after trying Auracast at CES that we concluded that "it'll change our relationship with headphones". Why so? Auracast's key skill is allowing your compatible headphones to tune into devices that you're not paired with. And this will soon give us a whole range of benefits – from letting you tune into the gate announcements at the airport so you don't miss your flight to listening to a sports bar's TV screen. The other benefit of Auracast is that it can broadcast to several devices simultaneously – for example, letting a co-worker quickly share the audio from their Windows laptop or iPhone (with a password to stop random listeners) or allowing those with hearing aids to easily tune into an public speaking event. It's still early days for Auracast with little hardware support so far, but expect to hear a lot more about it in 2024. Read more: I tried Bluetooth Auracast, and it'll change our relationship with headphones 5. AI gadgets usher in next-gen voice assistants (Image credit: Rabbit) Smartphones have devoured most handheld gadgets over the past decade, but the gadgets could yet make a comeback in 2024 – particularly if the new Rabbit R1 is anything to go by. The mysterious handheld gizmo, which promises to let you talk to your favorite apps using natural language and end the age of endless phone swiping, was one of the unexpected stars of the show. Time will tell if it lives up to that early hype, but it's set a blueprint for other AI gadgets to follow this year – we just hope half of them look as good as this Teenage Engineering-designed sidekick. What exactly is the Rabbit R1? CES 2024's AI breakout hit explained 6. E-Ink will personalize our laptops our phones (Image credit: Future) E-ink isn't a new technology and neither is the idea of using it on laptop covers, but at CES 2024 it looked like the concept had finally matured enough to go mainstream. The Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 SPE concept laptop (above) was one such example, using E-Ink Prism tech to let you add not just pictures but animations to the cover. Stickers suddenly look a bit old hat. The Chinese accessories company Infinix also used the same technology to make concept smartphone covers that can change and maintain their colors without consuming any extra power. While both Lenovo and Infinix's examples are still at the concept stage, we're expecting to see more fully-fledged implementations this year. Read more: 20 best gadgets of CES 2024: the top TVs, smart home tech, laptops and more we saw at the show 7. Smart rings will take the baton from smartwatches (Image credit: Lotus Ring) Smartwatches weren't exactly in short supply at CES 2024, but there was a distinct shift in wearables hype towards smart rings. They aren't a new concept, as owners of the Oura Ring will attest – but this year will see an explosion of competitors, potentially including the long-awaited Samsung Galaxy Ring. At CES, we saw Amazfit Helio Ring impress with its health-tracking potential, while the Evie smart ring returns after launching last year. Not that all smart rings are designed to track your sleep or steps – the Lotus ring (above) is effectively a wearable controller that lets you control home appliances, albeit ones made by Lotus itself. Yes, competition is already strong among the best smart rings, but in 2024 we're going to see them hit smartwatch levels of popularity. Amazfit Helio Ring is announced at CES – beating the rumored Samsung Galaxy Ring to the punch 8. Neural headphones are ready to read your mind (Image credit: Naqi Logix) The best headphones are no longer just about delivering super-duper audio quality with an immersive sound stage, isolating active noise cancellation, and a comfy design that makes you forget you’re wearing a pair of cans. Rather they aim to add exciting new strings to their bows; this year, it’s all about neural technologies. That’s right, at CES 2024 we saw headphones that can read your mind. The Naqi Neural Earbuds are designed “as a safe, non-invasive alternative to brain implants” that could offer you full control over a Windows or Mac computer – including browsing the net and playing games – by using gyroscopic, muscle, and brainwave sensors. Then there’s the MyWaves Technologies Pebble with a puck that you suction to your forehead. While you sleep it will scan your brain waves and play you a bespoke music playlist that should help you get your 40 winks. Naturally, some of the products sound more impressive – and appealing – than others, but expect to see more neural tech creeping into your headphones in 2024 and beyond. Read more: 'Neural' headphones are big at CES – here are 4 fascinating products coming soon 9. ChatGPT will be shoe-horned into everything (Image credit: Volkswagen) Last year's great breakout star, ChatGPT, hit such heights that it's now destined for an inevitable fate in 2024 – being shunted in every consumer tech device imaginable, whether it's a good idea or not. CES 2024 was full of such examples, from the creepy WeHead – which gives the chatbot an unsettling face – to Volkswagen announcing that it's bringing ChatGPT into its cars for AI-based conversations. Given ChatGPT has a propensity to hallucinate and make things up, we're not sure it's something we want to take advice from while driving a large hunk of metal down the freeway. Expect a lot more of this in 2024 – for good and bad. Read more: Volkswagen brings ChatGPT to its cars for AI conversations, but is that a good idea? 10. Smart home tech will become invisible (Image credit: XGIMI) The smart home continued to flounder in 2023, as the Matter standard failed to gain much traction. But at least the hardware will look good this year, if the best smart home tech of CES 2024 was anything to go by. The main theme this year was home tech that disappears into the background or, even better, is completely invisible. This was the case with XGIMI Aladdin, a ceiling light that's also secretly a projector and Bluetooth speaker. The Baracoda BMind, which won the 'best wellness tech' category in our Best of CES 2024 awards, is also a mirror with hidden generative AI powers that can both understand and improve your mental health. But on on a more day-to-day level, we also saw big tech players like Samsung and LG finally make TVs the natural center of the smart home. Samsung introduced a new dashboard called Now Plus to its televisions, while LG TVs became Matter-compatible Google Home hubs. Will this be the end for Nest hubs? Let's hope so – the fewer devices, the better, in our book. Read more: The best smart home tech of CES 2024: fresh ideas from Philips, Samsung and more 11. The Apple Vision Pro will be undercut by cheaper rivals (Image credit: Xreal) Apple skipped CES 2024, but you wouldn’t know it from all the talk about its Vision Pro headset. Just as the convention kicked off, Apple officially confirmed that the Vision Pro will start shipping in the US on February 2, with preorders launching on January 19. In response, CES was full to the brim with ‘Vision Pro rivals’ all vying to show you they can deliver what Apple’s spatial computer promises at a fraction of the cost. Xreal explicitly called its new Air 2 Ultra glasses an affordable alternative to the Vision Pro in its official press release. Asus’ AirVision M1 smart specs don’t boast the same kind of mixed-reality capabilities, but certainly have a name that feels a lot like an Apple product. And while Sony has yet to say how much its rival will cost, its VR headset for the “industrial metaverse” (we think we just threw up a little) certainly looks set to challenge Apple’s headset in the professional space. With a Samsung XR/VR headset on the way and others also gearing up to release spatial computing gadgets, expect a lot more Vision Pro rivals to materialize in 2024 – with most of them celebrating how much cheaper they are than Apple's headset, which starts at a cool $3,499 (that's around £2,800 / AU$5,300). Read more: The Xreal Air 2 Ultra is billed as an affordable Vision Pro and Quest 3 alternative, but we have doubts You might also like The best smart home tech of CES 2024: fresh ideas from Philips, Samsung and moreThe best wearable and fitness tech of CES 2024: from smart rings to AI coaches20 best gadgets of CES 2024: the top TVs, smart home tech, laptops and more we saw at the show View the full article

Apple's Vision Pro headset finally has a release date in the U.S., and it's coming up quickly! Alongside that announcement, we learned a bit more about the device and what to expect with the ordering process. Other news this week included Apple starting to pay out claims for the high-profile class action lawsuit that claimed Apple was "secretly throttling" older iPhones with degraded batteries, an approaching release of iOS 17.3 and related updates, and the annual CES tech event in Las Vegas, so read on below for all the details! Apple Vision Pro Launches February 2, Pre-Orders Start Next Week After being unveiled at WWDC 2023 last June, Apple's long-awaited Vision Pro mixed reality headset now has a release date: Friday, February 2. Pre-orders begin on Friday, January 19 at 5 a.m. Pacific Time. Availability is limited to the U.S., with more countries to follow later this year. Pricing starts at $3,499 with 256GB of storage, and ZEISS optical inserts will be available for $99 to $149. If you're planning to order, make sure to check out Apple's tips to make sure you're ready. Apple refers to the Vision Pro as a "spatial computer," and it offers a combination of augmented reality and virtual reality features. The headset is powered by an all-new visionOS operating system, which can be controlled with a user's eyes, hands, and voice. Learn more in our Vision Pro roundup. Apple Vision Pro: Here's Everything You Get in the Box In its press release announcing the Vision Pro's launch date, Apple revealed the various items that will be included with the headset. Apple says the headset will ship with two types of head bands (a Solo Knit Band and a Dual Loop Band), a light seal, two light seal cushions, a cover for the front glass, a polishing cloth, an external battery pack, a USB-C power adapter, and a USB-C charging cable. Apple Vision Pro Features 16GB of RAM Apple's upcoming Vision Pro headset is equipped with 16GB of unified memory, according to files related to the device in Xcode 15.2. Our finding in Apple's app development tool confirms a June 2023 report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman that said the Vision Pro would be equipped with 16GB of RAM, and that is also the same amount of memory that was included in Vision Pro development kits. Apple Sends $92 'Batterygate' Payments to iPhone Users Apple in 2020 agreed to pay up to $500 million to settle a class action lawsuit in the U.S. that accused the company of "secretly throttling" some iPhone models, and payouts finally started going out this week to individuals who submitted a claim. iPhone users have received $92.17 per claim from Apple, according to multiple MacRumors readers. The deadline to submit a claim was in October 2020. iOS 17.3 Coming Soon With These Two New Features for Your iPhone iOS 17.3 has been in beta testing since mid-December, and the upcoming software update includes two new features for the iPhone, including Stolen Device Protection and collaborative Apple Music playlists. Related: When Will iOS 17.3 Be Released? Apple seeded the third beta of iOS 17.3 this week, and the update will likely be widely released later this month. CES 2024 Recap of Apple-Related Announcements The annual CES tech conference was held in Las Vegas this week, and there were a handful of Apple-related announcements as usual. Check out our CES 2024 news hub for a recap of new HomeKit accessories and more. Also be sure to watch our Day One, Day Two and Day Three videos for more highlights. MacRumors Newsletter Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view. So if you want to have top stories like the above recap delivered to your email inbox each week, subscribe to our newsletter!Tag: Top Stories This article, "Top Stories: Apple Vision Pro Release Date, iOS 17.3 Coming Soon, CES 2024 Recap" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

We were first introduced to the Rabbit R1 in January 2024, at CES 2024, but what exactly is it? The charming sidekick (designed by Teenage Engineering) is promising to take pocket gadgets to the next level – offering something like a smartphone, but with an intuitive, unified, AI-driven interface that means you (theoretically, at least) need to interact with individual apps and websites. If you're curious about the Rabbit R1 and the ways in which it might change the course of personal computing – or at least show us how next-gen smartphone voice assistants might work – we've gathered together everything you need to know about it here. From what it costs and how it works, to the AI engine driving the R1 experience, all the details of this potentially revolutionary device are here. The first batches of the Rabbit R1 are due to start shipping to users later in 2024, although it seems availability is going to be rather limited to begin with – so you might have to wait a while to get your very own Rabbit R1. Rabbit R1: one-minute overview The r1 (Image credit: Rabbit) The Rabbit R1 is a lot like a phone in terms of its looks, and in some of its features: it has a camera and a SIM card slot, and it supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. What's different, and what makes the Rabbit R1 special, is the interface: instead of a grid of apps, you get an AI assistant that talks to your favorite apps and does everything for you. For example, you could get the R1 to research a holiday destination and book flights to it, or queue up a playlist of your favorite music, or book you a cab. In theory, you can do anything you can already do on your phone, just by asking. That said, there remain a lot of questions over exactly how it works and protects your privacy in the way it describes. We've seen next-gen personal assistants depicted in movies like Her, and the R1 is trying to make that a reality – leveraging the latest AI capabilities to replace the traditional smartphone interface with something a lot more intuitive and slick. Introducing r1. Watch the keynote. Order now: https://t.co/R3sOtVWoJ5 #CES2024 pic.twitter.com/niUmjFvKvEJanuary 9, 2024 See more Another way to think about the Rabbit R1 is as an evolution of the Amazon Echo, Google Nest, and Apple HomePod smart speakers. The voice-controlled digital assistants on these devices can do some rudimentary tasks – like check the weather or play music – but the R1 wants to go way beyond what they're capable of. Rabbit says the R1 is "the future of human-machine interfaces", and you can check out its pitch for the device in its very Apple-flavored CES 2024 keynote below. Rabbit r1: release date and price The first batch of 10,000 units of the Rabbit R1 were made available to preorder at the same time as the device was announced at CES, on January 9, 2024. Those units quickly sold out, as did a second batch of 10,000 units made available shortly after. Rabbit says that the people who got their preorders in should start having their devices shipped to them in March and April 2024. At the time of writing, there's no indication yet when another batch of units will be made available to preorder, or when we might see the r1 go on sale more widely. What we do know is that the price of the Rabbit R1 starts at $199, which works out at around £155 / AU$300. To begin with, the Rabbit R1 is available to order in the US, Canada, the UK, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, South Korea, and Japan, from the Rabbit website. What's more, unlike rival AI devices such as the Humane AI Pin, there's no ongoing subscription fee that you have to pay out. Rabbit r1: hardware The r1 comes in a distinctive color (Image credit: Rabbit) The Rabbit r1 is square, and bright orange, and comes with a 2.88-inch color touchscreen on the front. It's quite a compact device, almost small enough to fit in the palm of a hand, and it weighs in at 115 grams (about 4 oz). There's only one design, for now – you can't pick this up in multiple colors. We know there's a far-field mic embedded in the R1, as well as built-in speakers. There's an integrated 360-degree camera here too, which is apparently called the Rabbit Eye. You can interact with elements by touching the screen, and there's an analog scroll wheel at the side of the device as well, if you need it. The r1 camera (Image credit: Rabbit) On the right of the Rabbit R1 is a push-to-talk button, which you make use of whenever you want to talk to the AI assistant on the device. There's no need for any "hey Google" or "hey Siri" wake command, and it also means the assistant doesn't have to be constantly listening out for your voice. Double-tapping the button activates the on-board camera. Under the hood we've got a 2.3GHz MediaTek Helio processor, and Rabbit says the device offers "all day" battery life. That battery can be charged with a USB-C charge cable and power adapter, but it's worth bearing in mind that these aren't included in the box, so you'll have to use ones you've already got. Rabbit R1: software With its bright orange casing, the Rabbit r1 looks kind of cute, but it's the software that really makes it stand out. If you've used something like ChatGPT or Google Bard already, then this is something similar: Rabbit OS is fronted by an AI chatbot, capable of both answering questions and performing tasks. In the CES keynote demo, Rabbit founder and CEO Jesse Lyu showed the R1 answering philosophical questions, checking stock prices, looking up information about movies, playing music on Spotify, booking an Uber, ordering a pizza, and planning a vacation (complete with flights and hotel reservations). The r1 runs Rabbit OS (Image credit: Rabbit) To get some of this working, you need to connect the Rabbit OS with your various apps and services, which can be done through a web portal. From the demo we've seen, it looks as though Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Expedia, Uber, eBay, and Amazon will be some of the services you can connect to. Rabbit is keen to emphasize that it doesn't store any of your login details or track you in any way – it simply connects you to the apps you need – though the specifics of how it does this via the cloud are still unclear. Rabbit's privacy page gives us a few more details, stating that "when you interact with rabbit OS, you will be assigned a dedicated and isolated environment on our cloud for your own LAM [large action model]. When our rabbits perform tasks for you, they will use your own accounts that you have securely granted us control over through our rabbit hole web portal". It also adds that "we do not store your passwords for these services. Rabbits will ask for permission and clarification during the execution of any tasks, especially those involving sensitive actions such as payments." Exactly how Rabbit provides each user with a "dedicated and isolated environment" in its cloud isn't yet clear, but we should find out more once it lands with its first early adopters. We've also been told the R1 can handle communication, real-time translation, and analyze images taken with the camera – show the R1 what's in your fridge, for example, and it could up with a dish you can cook. The Rabbit R1 promises speedy responses too, quicker than you'd get with other generative AI bots. You can converse with the R1 as you would with Siri or Google Assistant, or you can bring up an on-screen keyboard by shaking the device. It calls its on-board AI a Large Action Model or LAM, similar to a Large Language Model or LLM (familiar from bots like ChatGPT), but with a lot more agency. The r1 wants to take over multiple phone tasks (Image credit: Rabbit) On top of all this, Rabbit says you can teach the R1 new skills. So, if you showed it how to go online and order your groceries for you, the next time it would be able to do that all by itself. In the CES demo, we saw the Rabbit R1 learning how to create AI images through Midjourney, and then replicating the process on its own. Interestingly, Rabbit says it doesn't want the R1 to replace your phone – it wants to work alongside it. The R1 can't, for example, browse YouTube, check social media or let you organize your email (at least not yet), so it would seem that the humble smartphone will be sticking around for a while yet. While some of the specifics about how the Rabbit R1 works and interacts with your favorite apps and services remain unclear, it's undoubtedly one of the most exciting pieces of AI hardware so far – as shown by the rapid sell-out of its early stock. We'll bring you more first impressions as soon as we've got our hands on one of 2024's early tech stars. You might also like Everything that was announced at CES 2024How to get started with ChatGPTThis smart mattress topper uses AI to boost sleep View the full article