Rabbit R1 update launches today to fix AI device complaints
The over-the-air update coming to the Rabbit R1 AI device will fix critical bugs, according to Rabbit founder and CEO Jesse Lyu. Look out for it Monday night.
Update: The next Rabbit R1 update is expected to launch on Monday, according to the start-up company. It’ll fix common complaints regarding software reliability and allow us to update our Rabbit R1 review if the AI device in fact improves.
The first major Rabbit R1 software update since last week’s launch event is coming this week, according to Rabbit founder and CEO Jesse Lyu, and it will fix several known bugs I found when I unboxed the suqare-shaped orange device on Tuesday night. That’s good news for early adopters who just received the new $199 AI device, and I’ll update my review based on the changes if warranted. You can expect the new R1 firmware to roll out Monday night into Tuesday morning.
Specifically, the over-the-air update will address four areas of Rabbit R1 complaints. It’ll fix the time zone bug, “significantly” improve battery performance, further reduce LLM hallucinations, and tweak overall system performance. I experienced all of these bugs when testing the Rabbit R1 over the past six days.
There’s hope for the Rabbit R1
The Rabbit R1 is a tempting purchase. It costs only $199 for a dedicated physical AI device, which I suggested is akin to holding a know-it-all LLM like ChatGPT in my hand. I also love the design of this bright orange gadget that’s filled with retro vibes and a throwback scroll wheel. It’s undeniably well-crafted.
“[The R1] will iterate fast!” tweeted Lyu at the end of his list of improvements coming this week. That’s exactly what’s needed. In my Rabbit R1 review, I explained how the the AI, rabbitOS software and the few app connections here don’t always work as advertised. But I also think there’s hope for this inexpensive AI device over time (notice: I said “Don’t buy this AI device yet” in my review).
In addition to early R1 purchasers like myself, the Rabbit team will want the updates to come out fast for one other reason: Apple is set to launch an AI-infused iOS 18 update on June 10 at its WWDC 2024 keynote. It’ll launch as a beta immediately and then be pushed to all consumers when we see those leaked iPhone 16 colors for real in Septemeber.
So, a next-gen Siri on my iPhone 15 Pro Max may copy a lot of the core functionality that my Rabbit R1 provides today. My Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review already demonstrates AI perks like text summaries and translations that the R1 is capable of doing (but, like Lyu has said from the beginning, phone-based app ecosystems remain very siloed).
Stay tuned for more Rababit R1 updates as I plan to continue to report on the start-up and its clever AI gadget in the months to come.