How have the first reviews of the R1 gone? We have already seen the positive. Let's go for the rest

A few days have already passed since the first units of the Rabbit r1 reached both the first buyers in the New York Pickup Party as well as the first reviewers and YouTube channels to give their opinion on the product and its condition. And obviously not everything was going to be good —far from it—and it has become clear.

Although it is true that the Early reviews have been – in general – positive, there have been some media, including myself, that have had complaints about some aspects of the Rabbit r1, either because of their operation, their output or what they essentially do. What has been the worst thing about the Rabbit r1?

WHY ISN'T IT JUST AN APP!?!?!?

Well the meme arrived, and it is precisely that To this day there are still some reviewers who still do not understand the concept that Rabbit Inc. aspires to with the r1. They talk about the wrong form factor and a different type of handling than what we are used to.

Why isn't it just an app? Well, I imagine that for several reasons. The first is that $200 hardware sells infinitely better than software of the same price, or half the price, or half the price. Have you bought an app for €50?

Perhaps the leap of faith at the promise of what the LAM can do for that price it would be extraordinarily expensive and they have decided to do it in the form of a device standalone, that is, independent of everything else capable of functioning on its own.

Besides, I think they wanted to innovate with a differentiating form factor compared to what is known as mobile devices.. It's okay to always do the same thing. The Humane Pin AI did it, and the Rabbit r1 too. They want to change the concept by changing how it is used.

For this a device was needed cheap enough material to make it worth it be bought - which they have achieved - but different enough so that we do not wonder precisely why they have not limited themselves to doing it only in software form.

My opinion

It seems to me that they have done a great job. Although it is true that we will see many things to improve, both the size and the layout They make the Rabbit R1 a device that would not have me glued to it, but that I could use quickly if I needed it. Press, talk and ready.

Is it more uncomfortable than a cell phone? If I want to do the same thing as with a cell phone, that's probably the case, but I think that the conception they have had about the gadget from the beginning is that you have to press and talk and nothing more, not that it was a small cell phone...

Half-made products

In what era do we live in when companies send products to reviewers and put unfinished items for sale? These were the words of a contributor to the WVFRM podcast. I fully agree with this. We all understand that there are presentations from Google and Apple respectively soon, and time is of the essence.

Arriving first doesn't always mean doing better—ask the AI Pin—but it helps, even though it feels like we're missing out. getting used to buyers being the ones beta testers and use us as testers instead of dedicating a position in the company to a specific group for that work.

While it is true that I believe that the product has overwhelming potential—just with the LAM it would be an abysmal advance— It is not acceptable to have something in your hands that has to be fixed or added options over and over again. thanks to updates in the form of OTAs.

The only positive thing about this point is that Two factors come together that are very complicated to occur in this type of articles. —although this world is so new that it is difficult to foresee how it will develop— and they are:

• On the one hand, a highly active community. We've seen hundreds of early adopter demos, bug reports and questions every day.
• For the other a company that listens to everything that community he asks. We have already seen some of the new features of the first OTA and they are one after another of user demands.

It seems amazing to me that in the presentation itself Jesse Liu, CEO of Rabbit, made the demos with questions from his Discord community. That is why it is so important. It is true that it is half finished and that is unjustifiable, but at least what is being asked for is heard and resolved.

Obstacles in the use of the device

Before I commented on the form factor. One of the questions that has been asked the most in the reviews is the why a product that has a touch screen and that in fact it is perfectly usable in places like the terminal mode keyboard is hidden in the options and does not work.

For this Jesse has written a Tweet:

It literally says that 

He is clear. Although I changed it later, I wanted the design of the device to move away from what we are used to. It could turn out better or worse but the risk would have to be taken. It has a wheel, so use it, because even though the screen is touch we move away from the idea of continuing to use this as a mobile phone.

I firmly believe that they will end up incorporating it in future updates, but I think it will be a defeat for both them and Teenage Engineering, who are the hardware designers of the device after all.

Although fortunately we return to the same thing. If the people want touch, the Rabbit r1 will have touch.

Low quality materials

These complaints to me are at least surprising or at least based on completely irrational expectations or at least ridiculously above what logic itself can dictate.

A product with software that promises to have a virtual assistant that is capable of having at its disposal all the knowledge that you are capable of providing. Which also has the Teenage Engineering design and on top of that It is priced at $200, what did people expect?

The battery is a problem that particularly worries me.. I have seen and read that it only lasts a few hours, and it is something that prevents its normal use. Jesse has already said that they have found a source of battery consumption and will fix it soon. Hopefully…

Anyway If you read the hardware specifications you will see the shortcomings immediately. The Rabbit r1 has a simple processor, like RAM, a camera designed not for taking photos but for Artificial Intelligence and a screen that allows you to view texts or some simple images.

The camera seems to compress the photographs on purpose, and well done, since your job is to recognize and explain to me what you see, not to upload them to Instagram. The screen is small and basic with just enough resolution to read text and see what the camera sees, but more of the same.

I haven't seen this live, but I trust that no one thought it was going to be a small iPhone. It has to be basic to be cheap and work well. In fact, Jesse has a video in which he is interviewed and talks about the BOM and margins.

Either we pay more or we settle for what there is. Obviously it can be better, but not at that price. I think it is worth more than it costs, especially in the future, which does not nullify its limitations at all. The only difference is that I am aware of them.

What is my point of view

The Rabbit r1 has bad things. It has materials that can be improved, it has unfinished software and it has design and usability problems. or at least something that will make us change our perception of how we use it.

But with all this for the first time - and without serving as a precedent - It is an item that I bought for what it could be and not so much for what it currently is.. I believe that the company is aware of the complaints and does not stop working to eliminate them.

For me it is just what I expected and although it could be improved, they have been honest. And it hasn't reached me yet...