[imagesource:trustedreviews]

New gadgets are launched every day, but few have the potential to significantly rock the smartphone market.

Thanks to an ex-Apple employee, wearable tech might have just become a practical alternative to your Samsung Galaxy.

Humane AI was founded by two former Apple employees: Imran Chaudhri, the iPhone maker’s director of design for 21 years, and Bethany Bongiorno, Apple’s former director of iOS and MacOS software. The company’s logo is a crescent moon, which some have compared to Apple’s half-eaten apple emblem.

Even though Humane AI hasn’t released any goods since its inception in 2019, it has drawn a lot of attention. According to CNBC, the startup has raised more than $200 million (R3,7 billion) from investors including Microsoft, Tiger Global, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff.

They’ve launched Ai Pin, a screen-free, stand-alone service that does not require a connection to an external device. “For us, the Ai Pin is just the beginning,” Chaudhri said at the launch.

Watch the explainer video:

Ai Pin lacks a ‘wake word’, which means it isn’t always listening for an instruction like ‘Hey Siri’ or ‘OK Google.’ It must be activated by the user using their voice, touch, gesture, or the laser ink display – if you touch and press one finger on the touchpad, the device activates and accepts voice commands. To take or finish a call, you just double-tap the touchpad.

When the product’s built-in microphone and camera are activated, a new array of ‘trust lights’ flash. When the camera is turned on, for example, the device will display a green light. This also alerts others that the device is filming them or their surroundings.

The laser display, which you can control with your palm, is one of the product’s trendiest features. By tapping their index and thumb, the user can navigate across displays like as weather, clock, and date. The user can also adjust the volume with a small twist of the palm.

The device’s magnet arrays securely attach with just one latch and have been designed to attach to any clothing, like a jacket or a shirt.

There is no need to download apps because firms such as Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI offer subscription-based AI services. The Ai Pin costs $699 (R13,000), which is close to what most smartphones cost these days.

Whether this is going to catch on and become a normal sight on the collar of regular peeps remains to be seen, but it’s an exciting step for wearable tech.

They had better find a way to make this snatch-proof or it will never work in sunny South Africa.

[source:interestingengineering]