It’s strange to see Apple, which hasn’t produced a foldable or smart ring yet, reportedly chase after an AI pin.
So it’s come to this: Apple is reportedly working on a wearable AI pin. According to The Information, it is going to be a small device with “multiple cameras, a speaker, microphones and wireless charging.” It sounds like the perfect gadget to pair with the long-awaited AI-powered Siri update, which will also reportedly work as a chatbot. But while many Apple rumors conjure up an air of excitement, the notion of an Apple AI pin sounds downright baffling. Worse, it just seems desperate.
Apple, the company known for taking its time to jump into new categories with more thoughtful solutions than its competitors, is reportedly chasing the specter of OpenAI’s unreleased AI pin. Never mind that OpenAI has never actually produced any hardware, and that it arguably stumbled into its position as a leading AI player. And never mind that Humane’s AI pin was a notorious failure that barely worked, and seemed pointless from the start.
Sure, Apple doesn’t want more AI eggs on its face, after the delay of its Siri revamp and the underwhelming (and error-prone) debut of Apple Intelligence. Beyond OpenAI, there’s also competition from Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses, which lean heavily on the company’s AI. There’s also the looming threat of whatever AI hardware Meta is cooking up next, following the layoffs from its virtual reality division. And while Google doesn’t have much to show from its Android XR platform, which aims to bring its Gemini AI to your face, Samsung’s Galaxy XR is a start. We’ve also recently seen compelling demos of Google’s AR glasses prototypes and Xreal’s Project Aura glasses.
