Rabbit Inc
If you have not heard of the Rabbit R1, that is one more “AI field” that’s attempting to switch your smartphone with a voice command machine that runs zero apps. Similar to the Humane AI Pin, this factor just lately launched and appears to be useless on arrival as a totally non-viable machine that does not clear up any actual issues, has horrible battery life, and is lacking massive chunks of core performance. Earlier than the machine fades into obscurity, although, Android Authority’s Mishaal Rahman regarded on the software program and located the “smartphone alternative” machine simply runs a smartphone OS. It is Android—each an Android OS and Android app, simply in a really restricted $200 field.
OK, technically, we will not name it “Android” since that is a Google trademark that you would be able to solely entry after licensing Google Play. It runs AOSP (the Android Open Supply Challenge codebase), which is the open supply bits of Android with none proprietary Google code. The interface—which is usually only a clock, settings display screen, and voice enter—can be simply an Android app. Being a standard Android app means you’ll be able to set up it on an Android telephone, and Rahman was in a position to get the Rabbit R1 software program working on a Pixel 6. He even bought the AI assistant to reply questions on the telephone.
Rabbit Inc. doesn’t sound completely happy about Rahman’s discovery. The corporate posted on X that it’s “conscious there are some unofficial rabbit OS app/web site emulators on the market” and that because it doesn’t wish to help “third-party purchasers,” a “native bootleg APK with out the correct OS and Cloud endpoints received’t be capable of entry our service.” The corporate describes its machine as a “very bespoke AOSP and decrease stage firmware modifications,” however that is an announcement that may be true for a lot of telephones. In one other assertion to Rahman, the corporate threatens that it’ll “reserve all rights for any malicious and unlawful cyber safety actions in direction of our companies.”
It is unclear why the corporate appears to be so mad in regards to the particulars of its tech stack being public, however from a technical standpoint, Rabbit Inc. is true to make use of Android, or particularly as a lot of AOSP as it may. Neglect about all of the Google Play stuff—in case you have one thing that should join a cellular community, handle cost states, mild up a touchscreen, work {hardware} inputs and a digital camera, and use an SoC in a power-efficient method, AOSP already does all of this for you. It is open supply and can be utilized with none connections, obligations, or monitoring from Google. You’d must have an excellent motive to spend a bunch of money and time reinventing all of this code when AOSP is free, works properly, and is the de facto trade customary to run cellular elements. This line of considering aligns with Google’s grasp plan to make Android open supply, and it finally is smart.
The subsequent query for a {hardware} developer is, “Ought to we use the app framework?” and that is one other factor that’s onerous to argue with re-inventing. The Android app framework will clear up 1,000,000 issues you most likely already want to resolve, allow you to outline screens and navigation, deal with inputs and settings, and numerous different options. The subsequent a part of Android’s technique is “Why not additionally join Google Play and signal on the dotted line with Google, Inc?” This comes with numerous cloud stuff like push notifications, on-line storage, hundreds of thousands of smartphone apps, all of the proprietary Google code and monitoring, and lots of restrictions and {qualifications}. An enormous chunk of these restrictions are round app compatibility, and that makes Google Play non-viable for a bizarre in-betweener machine just like the Rabbit R1. If you cannot easily slot into one of many classes of “smartwatch,” “smartphone,” “pill,” “TV,” or “automobile” app, Google Play does not have a spot for you.
The Rabbit devs did not wish to make a standard machine with 1,000,000 smartphone apps, so skipping Google Play was the appropriate selection. Since you’ll be able to solely use the identify “Android”—a registered Google trademark—in advertising in the event you enroll with Google Play, the corporate cannot precisely shout from the rooftops about what codebase it is utilizing. Rabbit’s opening gross sales pitch that it needs to “break free from the app-based working system at the moment utilized by smartphones” feels a bit disingenuous when it is utilizing the precise working system it is hinting at, however from a technical standpoint, these really feel like all the appropriate selections.
For the document, the Humane AI Pin additionally ran AOSP. The free and open supply nature of AOSP makes it the plain selection for cellular {hardware} that is smaller than a laptop computer, VR headsets, digital signage, and 1,000,000 different issues that do not want the expense or app compatibility of Home windows. These days, I simply assume any new machine from a startup is AOSP-based except confirmed in any other case.
