ten irritating aspects of the Rabbit R1 vehicle
In an attempt to seamlessly blend tech into our daily lives, the Rabbit R1 makes a bold entry. However, my experience with it was less than exhilarating, to say the least. Here, I highlight ten reasons that left me underwhelmed.
1. A Rough Draft Wrapped in a Gadget
Following widespread reports, it's no secret that the R1 feels unfinished and half-baked. You'll find a smattering of AI chatbot-like features, with promises of exciting advancements slated for later this year. These promised features include the ability for the R1 to learn actions and generalize them for various applications and a teach mode for creating personalized agents to handle specific tasks.
While the company admits that the device is "in a very early stage," the expectation of paying full price for an incomplete product is questionable.
2. Boring App Menu!
The R1's app selection leaves much to be desired. From the get-go, you're limited to only four apps: Spotify, Uber, DoorDash, and Midjourney. The selection didn't fare well with me, as I personally prefer Lyft and Uber Eats for my transportation and food delivery needs. My coworker Kyle, who favors Seamless, shared my sentiments. The inclusion of Midjourney was a puzzling attempt to make the device feel AI-heavy.
3. The Shaky Operator
I would have possibly forgiven the uninspiring app selection if the R1 had executed them flawlessly. Regrettably, that wasn't the case. Uber struggled with my pickup and drop-off location on the first try, but managed to succeed on the second attempt. For something as crucial as coordinating a ride, a 50% success rate is unacceptable.
Spotify was a mess, at best. It sometimes acknowledged my command to play a specific song but failed to deliver, and often completely ignored my repeated requests to pause playback. Moreover, the R1 frequently got song and artist names wrong, playing Josh Levine instead of Avril Lavigne.
4. Vision Feature With a Lack of Clarity
The Rabbit Eye-enabled Vision feature is another staple of the R1. Unfortunately, it's as bare-bones as they come and has already been around for years in the form of Google Lens. It didn't distinguish itself by performing consistently poorly, incorrectly labeling my colleague's black shirt as red and offering vague answers to specific inquiries.
5. A Song and Dance With Translation
The R1 boasts bidirectional translation between an impressive array of languages. However, its unreliable translations left me hesitant to rely on it during real-life situations when accuracy is paramount. Luckily, Google Translate exists and is free, making the R1's mediocre translation abilities less enticing.
6. Directionally Challenged
The R1's poor location services were evident when I inquired about the weather and received a report for Anaheim, California (while I was in Manhattan). Upon correction, it did manage to deliver the correct update, but the delay could have been avoided with a quick weather app check on my phone.
7. Frustrating Connection Hiccups
The R1's connection drops with RabbitOS were another frustrating aspect of my experience. It frequently required me to wait while it reestablished the connection, delaying my requests and and interrupting my user experience.
8. Juice Up and Run... Out of Juice
The 1,000 mAh battery offered by the R1 lasts about five to six hours and takes approximately one hour to recharge. While a recent software update improved idle battery performance, I found it hard to imagine the R1 serving as an all-day pocket companion with such minimal battery life.
9. The Hidden Subscription Fee
Although the company stresses that there is no monthly subscription fee on the R1, the need for cellular service (in addition to Wi-Fi) makes it a hidden cost for device users. Monthly expenses equivalent to the AI Pin's subscription fee of $24 will be required for another phone line to operate the R1.
10. Contextual Confusion
The demo video highlighting the Rabbit R1's contextual capabilities left me excited. Unfortunately, my attempts to replicate the demonstrated prompts were unsuccessful, with the device frequently misinterpreting or failing to understand my requests. The promised memory and understanding of context were nowhere to be found.
Despite the Rabbit R1's innovative premise, the device faces a multitude of shortcomings that leave much to be desired. Quality control issues, software instability, and limited functionality are among the concerns that have raised eyebrows among its users. With improvements in hardware and software, the Rabbit R1 could potentially become a promising tech option—for now, however, it falls short of expectations.
- The upcoming year promises advancements in the Rabbit R1's AI chatbot capabilities, yet the current model feels underdeveloped, leaving users underwhelmed.
- In the realm of technology, the Rabbit R1's app menu is disappointing, featuring a limited selection that fails to satisfy users.
- The execution of apps on the R1 is far from perfect; for instance, Spotify often fails to play requested songs and misnames artists.
- The Vision feature, a key aspect of the R1, performs inconsistently, even falling short of the performance offered by Google Lens.
- The bidirectional translation offered by the R1 is unreliable, making it less attractive in comparison to free and accurate alternatives like Google Translate.
- The R1 struggles with location services, providing incorrect weather reports in some instances.
- Frustrating connection hiccups with RabbitOS often delay requests and disrupt the user experience.
- The R1's battery life, lasting only five to six hours, makes it challenging to rely on it as an all-day pocket companion.
- Despite the absence of a monthly subscription fee on the device itself, the need for cellular service adds an additional, hidden cost for users.
- The contextual capabilities of the Rabbit R1, shown in the demo video, are currently elusive, as users struggle to replicate the demonstrated prompts.
