It’s official, the Humane AI Pin is being shut down. While the news does not come as a surprise to most who have heard of or tried the AI Pin, the speed at which the Humane AI Pin is getting bricked is truly shocking. HP has offered to buy Humane for $116 million USD and will take over all assets by the end of the month. As a result, the pin is no longer available for purchase. 

With the Humane AI Pin being discontinued, those who have already purchased the pin will also lose the option to use it, as the devices will stop functioning on February 28, 2025, by noon PST. The Humane AI Pin’s failure does not set a good precedent for AI gadgets, as most of the devices that have been released have not managed to find success either.

Humane AI Pin discontinued

Image: Humane AI Pin Video Handbook

The Humane AI Pin Shutdown Is Official—It’s a Disaster Like No Other 

HP’s AI investment plans have led it to capitalize on the AI technology that Humane had managed to develop, and while the product has been criticized for being impractical and unfinished since its launch, it is also innovative and has the potential to evolve into something noteworthy. There is no information on how HP plans to utilize this technology, but there are likely plans in place for AI integration in future HP devices. 

All things considered, the creators of Humane may have failed at turning it into a product worthy of mass adoption, but it could be turned into something more in other hands. Now, HP is buying Humane and all of its key assets, including the operating platform and over 300 patents and patent applications. The $116 million deal is expected to wrap up by the end of the month, and the Humane AI Pin servers are being permanently shut down at once to allow for the transfer.

The AI Pin Is Getting Bricked—What Does It Mean for Customers?

All sales of the Humane AI Pin have been discontinued as of yesterday, so customers can no longer purchase the $499 pins. All pending orders have been canceled, so those expecting deliveries will no longer receive their products and should get a refund instead. 

Customers who already own the pins will be unable to use the device’s features after 12 p.m. PST on February 28, 2025, as the pin will no longer connect to the company’s servers. Some offline features may appear to work, but without server support and no option to port to another number or carrier, the product will effectively be dead. 

The customer support services will also stop being functional after February 28, so if you’re an owner of the pin, it’s best to transfer all of your data and have all your questions answered now before there is no one left to answer them. The Discord channel will also be sunset at the same time. According to the support page for the Humane AI Pin shutdown, “All customer data, including personal identifiable information (PII), will be permanently deleted from Humane’s servers.”

Is the Humane Offering a Refund for the AI Pin?

Only recent customers of Humane can expect to get a refund for their purchase. To be more specific, customers whose products were shipped on or after November 15, 2024, are eligible to get a refund as they are still within the 90-day window that Humane had offered for unsatisfied customers. Those who still have orders pending from the company will also receive full refunds. 

If your device was shipped before the aforementioned date, tough luck, you’re stuck with the empty, hollow shell of an AI entity. This means that all the customers and early supporters of the pin will receive no compensation for investing in a product that they believed was the future of technology and one they would use for years to come.

Humane AI Pin bricked

Image: The AI Pin’s laser system

How Are Customers Responding to the Humane AI Pin Shutdown?

Customers are understandably disappointed that the Humane AI Pin is being bricked so soon and so abruptly, all without any compensation for the support they had shown the team by making a purchase. Many have also reiterated the dangers of investing in “cloud-only” devices or services where purchase does not mean ownership or permanent access to the device and its functionality. 

The shutdown of the Humane AI Pin has been met with humor, sarcasm, and taunts of how it was dead on arrival, which is expected as the only natural outcome in this day and age. However, a handful of customers genuinely believed in the promise of the device and invested in its potential. These loyal users are the most disappointed to see the gadget fail. 

The Humane AI Pin’s failure and the struggles of other similar devices like the Rabbit R1 gadget and Friend AI pendant have shown us that companies may be jumping the gun on selling AI hardware without perfecting its purpose or software first. While it is great to be innovative and attempt something new, there has to be a more solid strategy behind the product beyond “give it to the customer and let them figure out what to do with it.”

Beyond the initial hype around the Rabbit R1 device, the company wasn’t able to prove itself beyond a gimmick either, but things have not taken as bad of a turn for the company just yet. Capitalizing on the failure of the Humane pin, the company is giving away 500 free R1s to disappointed Humane users. And thus, the publicity stunts continue. 

Humane AI Pin failure

Image: Humane had a strong concept and goal but the execution did not match their ambition.

The Humane AI Pin’s Failure Does Not Come As a Surprise

We’ve gone over the many reasons why we expected the Humane AI Pin to be discontinued sooner or later, and they haven’t changed over time. The AI Pin had an innovative concept behind its design and structure, but it left a lot to be desired in terms of performance. Many reviewers like MKBHD called out the product for being faulty, but they were in turn criticized for hurting the product instead of supporting the cause.

While the device did have the potential to grow with future iterations, the company’s decision to price it at $699 with a monthly subscription of $24 ensured that even those who were interested in the product could not afford it. The price was eventually brought down to $499, but it was too little too late as most customers had seen the poor reviews the product kept receiving. 

Soon, the customer returns even began to outpace the sales of the product and the charging case was at constant risk of overheating. Humane had already begun looking for a buyer. The company was hoping to sell for something between $750 million to $ 1 billion, but hardly anyone was convinced that the company was worth as much. The startup was built on $230 million in funding, but the returns remained alarmingly low. 

What’s Next For the Two Businesses?

Now, as HP buys Humane for $116 million, the founders of Humane, Bethany Bongiorno and Imran Chaudhri, are also expected to move to the printer company. The two will continue to help HP with its AI investment.

While the general public remains skeptical of what HP can possibly do with this technology and the CosmOS platform, there could be room for a more realistic application of AI within the HP ecosystem. Only time will tell what that is. 

 

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tagged in HP AI investment, HP buys Humane, Humane AI Pin bricked, Humane AI Pin discontinued, Humane AI Pin failure, Humane AI Pin refund, Humane AI Pin shutdown
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