With its AI capabilities, the Rabbit R1 claims to make your life simpler, but its inconsistent performance, erroneous responses, and limited battery life prevent it from being a recommended device. I would hold off on making a purchase until the firm fixes any issues.
Pros:
- + Fun and light design
- + Voice search can be helpful
- + Can help you get stuff done without apps (sometimes!)
Cons:
- - Poor interface and sluggish scroll wheel
- - Can be slow to respond
- - Short battery life
- - Vision feature unreliable
- - Uber and DoorDash integration don’t work well or at all
RABBIT R1 REVIEW: CHEAT SHEET
- What is it? A handheld gadget powered by AI
- How much does it cost? $199
- Who is it for? Early adopters who don’t mind feeling like beta testers
- What does it do? Voice search, visual search via camera, generative AI images, book Uber rides and DoorDash food orders (in theory), voice recordings and summaries, language translations
- What doesn’t it do? Email or text, take pictures or videos, set reminders or timers, support Spotify playlists. Tell the correct time.
- Should you buy it? No, at least not until the bugs are worked out and more features are added
RABBIT R1 REVIEW: SPECS
| Price | $199 |
| Display | 2.88-inch touchscreen |
| CPU | 2.3-GHz MediaTek MT6765 |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Storage | 128GB |
| Speaker | 2W |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 4G LTE |
| Ports | USB-C |
| Battery | 1,000 mAh |
| Size | 5 x 5 x 3 inches |
| Weight | 115 grams / 4 ounces |
Rabbit R1 Design: Stylish Overview
With its bright orange square design that resembles a cross between an iPod and a Tamagotchi, the Rabbit R1 is undoubtedly noticeable in a crowd. Although it's a cheap plastic, for $199 you get just that.
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The gadget includes a 2.8-inch touch screen, a scroll wheel for menu navigation, and a revolving camera for visual searches on the front. On the right side is a push-to-talk button for issuing AI orders. (No, you are unable to make video calls or snap images.) I had problems seeing the screen in direct sunshine since, regrettably, it isn't that bright.
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The Rabbit R1's left edge houses a 4G LTE SIM card slot and a USB-C connector for charging, while the bottom left corner houses a speaker. Although it's good to know that you can still connect without Wi-Fi, when you're out and about, it's probably preferable to link this device with your phone in hotspot mode.
Rabbit R1 Interface: User Experience Overview
Although the R1 is equipped with a touchscreen, menu navigation is mostly accomplished through the use of the scroll wheel in conjunction with the side button. It is too laborious to navigate through the settings, therefore I wish the scroll wheel was a little more responsive.
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Furthermore, even though using the side button isn't very difficult, there have been several instances when I have reached out to touch the screen and nothing happens, as when I try to access the back option.
When use the on-screen keyboard to input a Wi-Fi password or ask inquiries in Terminal Mode, the touchscreen is only functional. However, because the keyboard is small, I had to push several keys—like the Enter key—more than once before they registered.
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The majority of your interactions with the R1 will be voice-based otherwise, and that aspect functions very well. When you speak, an animated rabbit on the screen will wag its ears to let you know the gadget is paying attention.
I wanted to draw your attention to two critical errors before continuing. First off, I examined my gadget and found that it was three hours behind the right time, which I was unable to change. Rabbit knows about the problem. Furthermore, volume control causes significantly more inconvenience than it should. It's absurd that you have to shake the smartphone twice to access the settings. I tried using push to talk to reduce the volume, but it didn't work every time.
Rabbit R1 Voice Search: Performance Overview
When it functions, the Rabbit R1 is like to having Google in your pocket, so I started with something simple. "What's the weather like today?" I inquired. ... the R1 informed me that it was 30 degrees when it was actually 83 degrees even though it knew where I was—Freehold, New Jersey. I believe the temperature was previously shown in Celsius. However, the R1 used Fahrenheit when I asked again. Thus, it is inconsistent.
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I was able to get a weather graphic every hour from the R1, but not with other queries. For instance, it texted me a reply sans the club logos when I inquired who won the Yankees game last night (15-5) instead of speaking the answer. Positively, the R1 knew enough to accurately respond to the follow-up question, "How many home runs did they hit?" with five. When I compared the Rabbit R1 vs. Siri, my iPhone wasn't as smart.
I inquired how the stock market was doing today to test the R1's voice search performance, and it took 11 seconds to receive an answer via Wi-Fi. That's rather sluggish, but at least I was able to quickly check the Dow Jones status and see the daily, weekly, and monthly views by scrolling through. However, I was unable to see the S&P and Nasdaq indexes presented.
Rabbit R1 Vision & Camera: Assessment
Though the Rabbit R1's revolving camera has plenty of tricks up its sleeve, don't anticipate precise responses, or any answers at all. To inquire about what you observe, just double-click the button to engage the R1's eye, then press and hold the side button.
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On the bright side, I inquired, "What kind of cocktails can I make with this?" while pointing the R1 towards my home bar. The machine recognized a few of the alcoholic beverages accurately and suggested that I combine Irish coffee, Gordon's gin, and Jameson whiskey to create a gin and tonic. However, it also mentioned that I could use the Peach Schnapps, which I don't have, to make vibrant drinks.
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The R1's identification of the flora near my house was mediocre at best. For instance, it once described a Kalanchoe plant as a primrose and then as an African violet. The replies are incorrect in both cases. In the meantime, my iPhone's Google Lens recognized this plant more quickly and precisely.
The capacity of the R1 to transcribe spreadsheets or modify ones that already exist is the coolest trick. I pulled up an example from the internet where one column's entire row was filled in, but not the others. I quickly received an email attachment when I requested it to fill in the remaining numbers, however all three of the grand total figures were incorrect.
At least as of right now, I'd say Vision on the Rabbit R1 is a mixed bag at best. Remember that the R1 is also incapable of taking pictures or movies.
Rabbit R1 Music & Voice Recordings: Evaluation
The Rabbit R1 allows you to stream music via your Spotify account, which is great, but (for the time being at least) it is unable to access your playlists. If you can’t play your favorite tunes after connecting with your account, what’s the point?
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I managed to get the R1 to start playing Green Day's music and Taylor Swift's most recent album, but that was as far as I got it. You have to shake the gadget to access the settings, and even then you have to select between voice, media, and system in order to adjust the volume.
Using the scroll wheel to adjust the volume would seem to do the opposite—it actually advances to the next track. Additionally, the R1 won't understand you if you ask it to skip music using voice commands.
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The R1 can also be used to record meetings, and as the meeting goes on, it has a cool tape recorder animation. After the meeting, the tape will be available to you online in your "rabbit hole," a virtual diary that includes contains other activities such as your Vision session. In this instance, the R1 effectively summed up our conference but did not provide transcription services, something that Google Meet does.
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Rabbit R1 Uber & DoorDash Integration: Analysis
The Rabbit R1's ride-sharing feature is very amazing when it functions. The business is utilizing your credentials to make reservations on your behalf since its AI bots have been educated on the Uber interface.
When I initially attempted to schedule a trip from my house to the neighborhood Starbucks, I was sent to the home screen after verifying the pickup and drop-off location due to an issue. When I tried to schedule the same ride again, the cost was more than $200 for a journey that is only little over a mile long. At one point, I was able to make it function and get as far as verifying my ride by entering a PIN. However, I wouldn't depend on this over my phone.
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I attempted to see if I could order one of my favorite dishes from a neighboring restaurant because I was feeling a little peckish. The R1 recognized Chapter House, which is excellent news, but out of the dozens of menu possibilities, it only showed six. Things worsen. The Rabbit R1 said there was a problem and to try again in a short while when I attempted to add Mozzarella Sticks to my cart. That didn't work either when I tried it.
It took over a minute to receive the incorrect response, Five Guys Burgers & Fries, then I attempted a more targeted question, can you order me a barbecue burger from Chapter House. From there, I was unable to add anything to my cart either. Who would ever want to experience this kind of frustration? It's far preferable to use the DoorDash app alone.
Rabbit R1 AI Generated Images: Performance Overview
With all the problems I was experiencing with the R1, I was feeling a little down, so I asked it to create some artificial intelligence pictures of golden retrievers playing beach frisbee. All right! The Rabbit R1 informed me of the issue after more over two minutes, thanks to Midjourney.
I requested the R1 to create an image of a huge, adorable rabbit striding across a cityscape, not discouraged, but instead I received another error notice indicating that there could be problems with login or maintenance. However, when I looked at my connections on the rabbithole website, it indicated that my Midjourney account was linked.
Although Rabbit has your email address on file, I was able to create photographs earlier in my tests and you are able to browse through them without having them forwarded to you. Rather, you must sign in to Midjourney before sharing the pictures. Enchantment!
It would be great if you used one of the top AI picture producers on your PC directly.
Rabbit R1 Missing Features: Evaluation
You lose access to basic features like volume control, alarms, timers, reminders, and the ability to snap photos or record videos, in addition to the inability to communicate or email.
Additionally, I would want to be able to use GPS to receive turn-by-turn instructions and track live sports scores on the display (at least while linked to cellular).
Although I don't think the R1 will function as a phone, I do think it should be capable of much more right out of the box.
Rabbit R1 Battery Life: Performance Overview
The R1 has a very short battery life. I discovered throughout testing that I typically needed to plug in at least once a day because I was usually below 50% by 2:00 pm. In example, using the camera quickly depleted the battery.
I suppose the good news is that, after I plugged the R1 in, it charged rather quickly.
Rabbit R1 Verdict: Final Assessment
I'm not sure whether or not to rate this Rabbit R1 review because it seems so flawed and incomplete. However, because this item is now available for purchase, I am forced to "award" it 1.5 stars. Although the R1 has some really interesting ideas, the majority of them are not carried out very effectively, and there are far too many flaws, mistakes, and wrong responses for me to suggest this AI device to anybody.
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Does the Rabbit R1 improve with time? Indeed, Rabbit promises a plethora of upcoming features, including point-of-interest research, navigation, and a teach mode that will enable the R1 to acquire further knowledge. However, since the R1 isn't meant to replace your phone, it's simply another gadget you have to take about, therefore I don't see it being very popular. More so, it's a companion gadget. Although Rabbit has hinted at a wearable it is developing, the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses are now a superior choice in that area.
Is this an improvement over the AI Pin for Humanity? In theory, sure, as the Humane really comes with a screen and costs an outrageous $699 in addition to $24 per month for a subscription—though I haven't personally tested it. However, I don't believe it's worth purchasing since, given my experience with the R1, being better than the AI Pin is a pretty low bar.