It's time to admit the 'AI gadget' era was a flop

Apple Vision Pro, Rabbit R1 and Humane Pin
(Image credit: Apple/Rabbit/Humane/Future)

For a moment back there it looked like the smartphone might be in trouble. Weird and (on paper) wonderful gadgets were popping up left, right and centre, claiming to offer a transformative experience by harnessing the power of AI. The splashiest examples had to be the Rabbit R1 and Humane AI Pin. But with the untimely and ugly death of the latter this week, it's time to call the AI gadget era what it was: an almighty flop.

Humane has announced that is is shutting down after being acquired by HP, and that its AI Pin device will stop connecting to its servers. In other words, the Pin is getting bricked. Oh, and don't expect a refund if you bought it more than 90 days ago.

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Daniel John
Design Editor

Daniel John is Design Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of design, branding and lifestyle tech, and has covered several industry events including Milan Design Week, OFFF Barcelona and Adobe Max in Los Angeles.

Read more
Apple Intelligence
Is Apple Intelligence already doomed to irrelevance?
Apple Intelligence
Apple's U-turn on news alerts shows big tech is the biggest threat to AI
AI smartphone survey SellCell
Uh oh, up to 87% of smartphone users don't like AI features
AI generated images of a young male Instagram user situated in a hall of mirrors, screenshotted from Instagram feed
Meta has absolutely no clue what to do with AI
Scout car logo
Why CES is getting predictable, and the 3 products that managed to stand out
An image of someone using Google Project Astra Gemini AI smart glasses
Gemini AI glasses could finally justify Google's obsession with eyewear
Latest in Product Design
Apple Vision Pro, Rabbit R1 and Humane Pin
It's time to admit the 'AI gadget' era was a flop
iPhone 17 Pro render
The iPhone 17 line up just keeps getting weirder
A photo of a man wearing an Apple Watch Ultra
People are wearing their Apple Watch on their ankles. Here's why
iPhone 17 Air concept
The iPhone 17 Air makes no sense to me
A selection of Apple products
Next week could be a wild ride for Apple fans
Ferrari UK
It could be the end of the road for wild personalised Ferrari car designs
Latest in News
McDonald's billboard
From McDonald's to Kellogg's: Why are so many brands ditching their logo?
Sonic the Hedgehog
Someone remade Sonic the Hedgehog's Green Hill Zone for Game Boy, and I want to play it right now
Anycubic sale
Anycubic has another mega sale on 3D printers – and these are the 7 deals I would happily buy
Prologue: Go Wayback!; computer generated scenes from a video game showing mountains, forests and woodlands
PUBG creator's next game might be too brutal – and that's exactly the point
Baseball player optical illusion
This baseball player optical illusion shifts right before your eyes
Muse AI; a head breathes fire
Microsoft's Muse AI wants to change how games are made - but can it work?