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Renowned designer Jony Ive, formerly of Apple, has publicly criticized the Rabbit R1 and Humane AI Pin, labeling them “very poor products.” Ive’s comments coincided with the announcement of a substantial $6.5 billion partnership between his startup, io, and OpenAI to create innovative AI hardware. He argued that the criticized devices reflect “an absence of new ways of thinking expressed in products.” This sentiment echoes early reviews of both gadgets. The Humane AI Pin faced accusations of being largely non-functional, ultimately leading to the company’s acquisition by HP and subsequent shutdown of the device. The Rabbit R1 was similarly viewed as a less effective alternative to smartphones. Despite the initial criticism, Rabbit continues to refine the R1, having recently introduced a memory log feature and a trial version of its AI-native operating system, Intern.