The Rabbit R1 wowed the tech world earlier this year at CES 2024, and now it’s been confirmed that the first 10,000 of these little AI-powered gadgets will go to the first people who pre-ordered them in the US and Canada from Sunday. March 31st.
Like a rabbit after on social media (via Engadget), the first batch of devices will leave the factory on that date, although it may take approximately three weeks to get into customers’ hands due to various international and U.S. customs processes.
If you’re one of the first 10,000 people in the US to submit your name for a Rabbit R1, you can expect to receive it around April 24, Rabbit says. Of course, there’s always the chance of further delays, but that’s the current estimate.
According to the FAQ on the Rabbit website, the second batch of orders will ship in April and May, while the third batch will go to customers in May and June, for addresses in the US and Canada. If you are in the UK or EU, shipping is expected to start at the end of April.
The next smartphone?
We would like to let you know that we are on track for the first US batch to leave the factory on Easter, March 31, as promised. We estimate shipping will take just over three weeks as orders must clear both International and US customs, with the first orders… pic.twitter.com/sh3H5yCcpmMarch 23, 2024
If you’re brand new to the Rabbit R1, it functions a bit like a smartphone, except there’s an AI assistant that does all the tasks that apps normally do: queuing music, taking photos, booking hotels, and so on.
In fact, the Rabbit software is smart enough to communicate with your mobile apps once you show it what to do. It’s an interesting new take on the pocket computer, and it caught a lot of attention early on in the industry.
We know that the Rabbit R1 will be powered, at least in part, by the Perplexity AI engine: this means you can chat with the device in the same way you would with ChatGPT or with Microsoft’s Copilot.
You can do the Rabbit R1 from Rabbit for $199 (about £160 / AU$305), although it may take a while before you get it. Rabbit CEO Jesse Lyu recently shared a demo of the device in action, if you want to get an idea of how it works.