If you look at the market, you will realize that all your essential devices, whether smartphones, laptops or tablets, now have generative artificial intelligence capabilities. In fact, the race to mainstream AI began with ChatGPT, which quickly grew from a must-have app to an influence on hardware design.
While there has been considerable optimism around AI, with billions invested in the technology, we have yet to see an explosion of devices designed from the ground up with generative AI at the same rate as the technology was initially commercialized. Of course, AI generation adoption is not widespread and only a handful of people are actively using AI on their devices.
However, that hasn’t stopped companies like Meta and a few high-profile startups from investing heavily in new form factors designed for the AI generation from day one. And the best? You can actually buy these devices from the market.
Here are five cool AI gadgets that aren’t smartphones or laptops.
Ray-Ban Meta Glasses
Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses present the potential AI generation use case in a familiar, easy-to-use format. They look like classic Ray-Bans, aren’t bulky, and the AI functionality works seamlessly. The best thing about these glasses is that they don’t try to be a face-computer but rather a complementary device to your smartphone.
In fact, these smart glasses are outselling traditional Ray-Bans in some stores in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, highlighting consumers’ growing enthusiasm for such devices. Although not designed for augmented reality experiences, users can take photos, listen to music, and ask the Meta AI digital assistant for information about objects in their field of view.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Ray-Ban glasses, like smartphones, is that Meta continues to improve them through software updates. Earlier this year, Meta began rolling out Gen AI features for the device and later announced several new AI capabilities at its Connect event in September.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses are a real achievement in AI. It’s the execution that could have worked in Meta’s favor. You can buy the Ray-Ban Meta Glasses for as low as $239 during the Black Friday sale.
Rabbit R1
When the Rabbit R1 was announced earlier this year at the CES tech show, the device seemingly came out of nowhere and piqued the interest of both the tech community and the general public. The bright orange-colored AI gadget, the R1, was positioned differently from smartphones and, based on early demos, its computer vision was praised, helping the device stand out in the market.
The $200 R1 has a camera and two mics, allowing it to record audio clips, set timers, or perform more advanced tasks like providing search results, making voice recordings, and streaming music. However, upon release, the device didn’t exactly experience smooth sailing. It fails to surpass what a smartphone can already do. Since its release, the R1 has seen significant improvements and the startup promises a much better experience with the AI gadget.
The R1 may not be perfect, but it does what AI can do on a device designed specifically for artificial intelligence.
Bee
Bee is a new AI bracelet in the market, but what makes it different from other smart wearables is that the device is designed for generative artificial intelligence.
Bee understands 40 languages and can also be integrated with users’ Google and Gmail accounts. (Express image)
The Bee may look like a regular connected smart bracelet, but it works via a connection to users’ smartphones. It has two microphones that allow it to listen to and analyze people’s voice memos and conversations to provide summaries and to-do lists. The device includes 40 languages and can also be integrated with health tools and people’s Google and Gmail accounts to help generate personalized summaries and actions.
The laptop, which went on sale recently, costs $50, and those who want better memory or additional features will have to pay a $15 subscription.
Google Pixel Buds Pro 2
Google’s flagship Pixel Buds Pro 2 aren’t just designed for listening to music: they also feature AI. This is probably why Google is using generative AI as the main feature and selling point for the Pixel Buds Pro 2.
Google seems to be banking on the AI-based features of its new wireless earbuds. (Express image)
While the previous generation of Pixel Buds featured Google Assistant and the “Hey Google!” feature, the new iteration also comes with Gemini AI. This allows the Buds to access Google’s new Gemini Live AI feature by saying “Let’s talk” after activating the assistant with the wake command.
While the feature can be inconsistent, it gives the Google Assistant experience a more conversational and interactive feel and allows you to receive advanced search results played to you through the headphones. Google seems to be banking on the AI-based features of its new wireless earbuds. While the technology may not be perfect, it promises an expanded use case for AI in wireless earbuds, going beyond what AI can do on a smartphone.
Kindle Scribe (2024)
When the Scribe debuted last year, it was Amazon’s first e-reader with stylus support. This is a great e-ink tablet, although it comes with a higher price tag. As the new generation of Scribe has just hit the market, Amazon is adding enhanced features that enhance the handwriting experience with the help of AI.
Kindle Scribe’s AI-powered features feel like a first-generation integration. (Express image)
The first, called Refined Writing, analyzes all your handwritten notes and converts them into something more readable. The second feature, called Summarize, looks at all of your writing and distills it into a one-page summary of key points. The $399 Scribe is a new kind of device: part e-ink reader, part tablet.
From what Amazon has presented, Scribe’s AI-powered features look like a first-generation integration, but they’re not an afterthought; they are at the heart of the experience.