The design is very human.
So the thing laser-projects onto your hand as a screen. Does this mean we can now expect cellphone assholes to blind us with lasers by dropping their hands while it’s still projecting?
And a bodycam that is on 24/7 that, unlike cops, you can’t turn off at convenient times, and is constantly reporting to a centralized corporation. I’m sure it’s not going to be another step on the privacy hellscape that is technology right now.
No way is something that size transmitting video all the time, or even processing it on board to upload summaries. The battery would last about an hour
According to the article (if you’d bother reading before commenting) it doesn’t record all the time and when it is, a little light on it would flash.
But seriously? You actually think that little thing could handle non stop video recording and storage without going dead every like 2 hours?
Not only did I read the article, I watched the original reveal during a ted talk six months ago and read the press releases then. They touted an AI assistant that would be context aware and anticipate the user’s needs, and evolve with the user. They faced backlash on social media then. How does an AI predicts your needs unless it’s listening and watching everything you do? Not just the camera but access to all your digital data as well. This new video is just to announce when it will be open for pre-purchase. But the led indicator and the “it won’t be listening to wake up” was added to address the criticism.
I really don’t know what to think of this thing. It’s a bit like a combadge from Star Trek with a camera and small monochrome projector. I like the idea behind it, handling most of the utilitarian features smartphones bring without the games and social media distractions. The AI stuff is neat, but I don’t know how well baked any of it is and that’s really going to be what makes or breaks something like this.
Price is a bit high, and I don’t know how I feel about the subscription–I guess it’s not bad if you think of this as a full cellphone replacement, but that’s a tall order with something this new and dorky. There’s probably a 90%+ chance this becomes short-lived vaporware/abandonware, but who knows. I’d love to see something succeed that gets people’s faces out of their cellphones and back to interacting in person more.
This comment summed it up well…
For all the reasons that this might not take off, what a thrill that people are trying something new–and it looks really nicely designed too.
I think this is easy to dismiss at first glance, but I genuinely believe they’re trying to think about a new mode of interaction. The idea that “the computer will disappear” is probably accurate in the long term. Except for content delivery (reading, photos, movies), most tasks we achieve via computers and phones do not strictly require a screen. It’s probably a good thing if computers did a better job of getting out of the way, and stop so loudly disrupting human interactions.
Whether this will be the solution is unclear; the privacy/creepiness angle is still real with an outwards-facing camera. Latency and battery life limitations might be too significant. The cost will be a non-starter for many (it is for me).
But I’m still impressed because there was a vision here. The conversational interface has never worked before for many reasons, but that does not mean it cannot work in principle, or that the ideal implementation would not be spellbinding. I’m glad they’re trying. Also, the laser display is neat!
I see why they are “former” Apple designers.
This article is a goldmine lmao, but my favourite might be
There are no wake words so it’s not always listening, […] it doesn’t do anything until you engage with it, and your engagement comes through your voice
🤔
They just need to make a version that looks like a Star Trek communicator badge.
