Rabbit R1 isn't an iPhone killer, because its AI can run on Apple hardware
The Rabbit R1 handheld AI device is a simple Android device, and a developer made the AI run on an iPhone.
Rabbit R1 running on iPhone as a web app [X/@WillHobick]
The Rabbit R1 offers the ability to answer queries and perform tasks using AI, instead of using an iPhone directly. However, the work of one enterprising developer has resulted in a clone of the "iPhone-killer" which can run on an iPhone.
In X tweets on Monday, Will Hobick of Flutterflow posted that he would be posting a "cloneable template" of the Rabbit R1 app later in the week. In a follow-up post on Tuesday, he demonstrates a version of the app running on an iPhone.
The app-based version offers pretty much the same core functionality as the device itself. A video shows the app answering a verbal query, complete with the same animations as the physical version.
The r1 rabbit working on IOS
This app utilizes device time, battery life, haptic touch, camera and more. Built in just a few hours and working as a PWA, IOS and Android (see thread)
This demo was built in @FlutterDev with @FlutterFlow pic.twitter.com/cZ935M4YUU-- Will Hobick (@WillHobick)
It is also able to answer visual queries too. After taking a photograph of AirPods on a table and asking what is in the picture, the app provides an accurate response.
Hobick claims the Progressive Web App utilizes the time, battery life, haptic touch, camera, and more elements of its host device. It was also apparently built within a few hours, and works on both iOS and Android.
While it seems accurate, it is unclear if the app is actually running the Rabbit R1's operating system. It's plausible that the app is using various existing libraries for voice recognition and to send off queries to services like ChatGPT for answers.
A publicly-available version of the app is not yet available to try out.
The app's creation does demonstrate that things like the Humane AI pin and the Rabbit R1's functionality could be replicated by savvy app developers.
Apple has been rumored to be working on creating an AI App Store, a version of the storefront for the sale and distribution of AI apps. It's certainly feasible that apps like the PWA-based demonstration could be made available in the storefront, if it becomes a reality.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
AI is basically a race to the next search engine. That's hardware agnostic and won't affect Apple's products, other than as a general algorithm technique to drive features, which Apple will do. Even as the uber-search service, or smart agent service, you have to wonder how popular it will be in the mass market. How will it benefit me?
Even for writing or programming, you have to wonder if it is truly a help. Like, asking it to generate some code to do xyz. In a traditional search engine, you use a search service to get some code to do xyz. Not so sure the AI results will be better. I imagine AI results are still pure. It's a pure service that outputs only data. At some point in the future, the data to ads ratio is going drop to near zero, so, we will be back to where we are today, where figuring out to do something by searching the Internet is having to sift through all the shit for the 1 kbyte of text you are looking for?