The shopping season is coming, want to give a gift with a sense of technology? Generative AI hardware may be a good choice, but there are currently few amazing products on the market. Although many companies invest heavily in research and development, there are very few truly successful cases due to technical bottlenecks and user needs. This article will analyze the current development status of generative AI hardware, discuss the challenges and future trends it faces, and introduce several existing products on the market to provide a reference for your purchase.
In this shopping carnival season, want to give your relatives and friends a gift of "future technology"? Unfortunately, there are not many choices of artificial intelligence gadgets. Since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in 2022, generative AI has become popular in Silicon Valley. While countless companies are investing money and working hard to develop new tools, very few are actually creating new hardware with this technology at its core.
Analyst Paul Gagnon said that at the CES show in January this year, everyone had high hopes for generative AI devices, especially companies like Humane and Rabbit, which claimed to be able to translate, answer questions, record voice sleep and set alarm clocks, etc. It aroused heated discussion. However, critics point out that many of the new devices perform poorly, are slow and prone to failure. As Gagnon mentioned earlier, the initial promises seemed a bit vague, and there are now difficulties explaining them to consumers.
Bajarin, the founder of the market research company Creative Strategy, pointed out that the main reason for the failure of generative AI hardware to achieve breakthroughs is that the computing power of current devices is limited, and more powerful chips and related components are urgently needed to improve performance, especially when used with smartphones. in comparison. In addition, consumers also feel that these artificial intelligence devices are too expensive and are confused about their actual functions.
For example, Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses require a mobile phone to run the companion app, and a stable Internet connection is also necessary. Ryan Reith, vice president of mobile devices at IDC, said both Huawei and Lenovo are promoting new PCs that can perform generative AI tasks, but consumers are not buying them. "I don't think consumers actually need to buy these expensive computers." Reith said people will ask, why spend money on new computers when they already have computers that can access tools like ChatGPT?
Indeed, while generative AI is gaining traction in Silicon Valley, its widespread adoption is still in its infancy. Bajarin mentioned that although I can cite the productivity statistics of people using artificial intelligence today, there are still very, very few people using artificial intelligence, and this technology is about to become truly ubiquitous. Steve Koenig, vice president of research at the Consumer Technology Association, also said that it may not be until 2025 that consumers see the real explosion of generative AI computers, smartphones and new devices.
While generative AI hardware hasn’t made significant progress yet, here are some devices early adopters can try. Meta launched the second generation of Ray-Ban smart glasses in 2023. Although it does not provide augmented reality functions, users can use it to shoot, listen to music, and ask Meta's AI digital assistant for information about things around them. For example, you can ask it to recommend recipes while you're wandering the supermarket aisles. Meta is currently selling select versions of the glasses at 20% off until December 2nd. Above, a pair of Ray-Ban Meta Skyler glasses were purchased online for $239.20 instead of $299.
Then there's Rabbit's r1. The $200 gadget is shaped like a mini orange tablet, giving it a playful feel, and comes with a Nintendo Switch instead of an Apple iPad. Equipped with a camera and dual microphones, r1 can record sounds, set timers, and even help users recall past conversations. Although the device failed review after shipping in March because it could not surpass the functionality of a smartphone, Rabbit representative Jesse Lyu said they quickly improved the user experience based on feedback and rolled out many updates. Despite the challenges, R1 still sold more than 100,000 units, far exceeding the expected 3,000 units, and the return rate was less than 5%.
Finally, Bee AI also performed weakly. The company launched its generative AI device Bee on Black Friday after raising $7 million in funding in July. Bee looks like a smart IoT watch and functions like an advanced digital assistant. Bee is capable of listening and analyzing speech and conversations to provide summaries and to-do lists, said Maria de Lourdes Zolo, who conceived Bee AI. Although Bee offers Apple Watch, consumers can purchase Bee for $49.99 to enjoy its basic features, but if you want more powerful features, you will need to pay $15 per month. It is worth mentioning that during Black Friday , Bee is also offering shoppers a three-month free subscription, with devices expected to ship before Christmas.
It seems that although these new devices generally have their own characteristics, consumers still have concerns about the practical application of generative AI. Technologists still need to continue to work hard to make AI gadgets truly enter thousands of households.
All in all, the generative AI hardware market is still in its early stages of development, and technical bottlenecks and mismatches in user needs hinder its rapid popularity. Although the current product functions are limited, with the continuous advancement of technology and the improvement of consumer awareness in the future, generative AI hardware will show greater potential and bring more convenience to people's lives.