Humane’s finally launched its AI pin.^52† Imran and Bethany want to promise you a new type of computing at $699 + $24/mo for the companion app. The [demo²¹] was Apple-inspired but lacked the enthusiasm of Apple launches. The product on the other hand, packs some interesting features.

What’s going on here?

Humane launches its version of AI wearable - ai pin for $699.

What does that mean?

The ai pin comes with a magnetic battery booster. You can swap out battery packs and have what Humane calls “perpetual battery life”. There are no wake words or always on recordings. Most interactions start with a touch (or two). Privacy is handled by an on-off LED that makes the device stop if you tamper with it.

The ai pin gives you an alternative for everything you use your phone while putting the device in the background. You can make calls, find and play unique music, take photos etc.

Except apps. Instead of apps it gives you AI experiences that run in the cloud. The “catch me up” feature gets you summaries for messages. There’s live translation to talk in any language, AI assisted search to find anything, etc. All the AI is, again, powered by OpenAI models.The gesture controls are cool but you have to keep the hand so that the laser ink can project on it. More use cases and gesture details on the website.^52†

Why should I care?

The product is extremely interesting. It’s an experiment with a new form, which is easy to dismiss as “too heavy”, awkward, or “not there yet” but not many people imagined us all having Airpods in our ears 24x7. The demo is a bit of letdown with the “not-excited” script and factual mistakes. I believe in hoping on the side that things will improve and it’s an exciting time for new-gen wearables as a category.