If you thought smartphones were cool, the Humane AI Pin features a host of different capabilities that combine smartphones with the world of smart wearables. The Humane AI Pin release date has come and gone and despite the initial conversation around there isn’t as much of a conversation around these Humane AI Pin OS and its features as we expected. Released on 16 November for pre-order, Humane’s AI Pin price is likely to be the biggest obstacle to its own popularity. With a $699 price tag, the device demands an additional monthly fee to be fully functional. Even for those with a greater disposable income, this can seem like a pretty big investment. AI at the touch of a button does sound appealing but is the Humane AI Pin really the future of tech?
Image credit – Humane
Humane AI Pin Features—What Can the Pin Do?
The AI Pin, launched by tech startup Humane, was first teased around April, with a live demo by company co-founder Imran Chaudhri showcasing the product’s capabilities. The Human AI Pins have the features of a smart device but can be used independently, without having to rely on another phone or device for its operation. During the presentation, Chaudhri demonstrated how the device can be woken up while holding down on the touchpad and then followed up with voice commands to tell the device what you want to do. The touchpad also allows scrolling, swiping, and other familiar controls that can help navigate the Humane AI Pin feature.
Image credit – Humane
An interesting feature of the Humane AI Pin is the projector feature. Instead of relying on a screen, the device can project details onto your palm when held in front of it, and using hand gestures like tilting and rolling your palm and closing your fingers, you can then navigate through the displayed content and make a selection.
Just like a smartphone, the device will allow you to receive calls and filter those that you want to prioritize over others. Its “Catch me up feature” can summarize your texts and give you a simplified picture of everything you’ve missed out on. Humane’s OpenAI-powered wearable can take care of other tasks like generating playlists, recommending nutrition information, crafting messages, etc. The AI pin also features an in-built 13MP ultra-wide camera that can capture images with a double tap gesture. The camera can be used to analyze objects in the environment and generate responses as well.
Humane AI Pin OS and System Features
We return to the current leading champions in artificial intelligence, OpenAI. The Humane AI Pin is powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4 for all its processing needs. It’s quite impressive to consider how the small device can boast of sufficient computing power to run the device but it is a nod to the power of technology today. It runs on an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and has 4GB RAM with 32GB eMMC storage.
The AI Pin weighs 34.2 g and comes with a 20.5 g battery booster. In terms of how you can wear it, the device relies on a magnetic attachment or a clip to hold onto your clothes for easy access and operation. Using a custom-color single-diode laser, it can project to a distance of 20-40 cm in order for you to operate it. Its “trust light” colors are meant to alert those around you of when different features are in use.
Humane AI Pin Price
The Humane AI Pin is priced at $699 but that’s only the base Matte black on black Eclipse model. For the polished chrome on white Lunar model and the polished chrome on black Equinox model, the AI Pin is priced at $799. To actually use the Humane AI Pin, you require a Humane AI Pin subscription that costs $24 per month. The subscription allows access to the cloud data storage, use of the AI services, and a modified T-Mobile subscription for the pin. With such a big investment necessary to run the device, its potential use doesn’t seem to add much to the user’s experience.
The Potential Is There But Its Applications Seem Limited So Far
Overall, the idea behind the Humane AI Pin is pretty exciting and the possibilities of expansion of creative tech like this remain endless. So far, however, most remain skeptical of its actual capabilities, even keeping the price of the Humane AI Pin aside. The technology from the device is reportedly designed to ensure only you can hear the audio that is put out by the Humane AI Pin but it’s hard to picture this being successfully executed, especially when you’re out in public, trying to talk to talk to your jacket.
The keystone technology is designed to track the surface it’s projecting on to allow for an even, undistorted image, but again, will you have to keep your hand still to read your messages? Will it be difficult to find the right space it’s projecting to every time you go to use it? Answers to these are not apparent as there have been no opportunities for anyone to actually test and demonstrate the product yet.
The Humane AI Pin release date for November 16 marked when the device became available for preorder but they should begin shipping out in 2024. When more people get to try out the device in real-life contexts, then we will know if there is any actual use potential for this Humane-OpenAI product.
