Why Spend on AI Gadgets When These AI Apps Can Do It All

May. 9, 2024

Humane AI pin, Rabbit R1, and the Meta Sunglasses were thought to usher in a new era of AI devices. However, their launch fell short, due to their unfinished state, and key features promised to be “coming soon”. This begs the question – do we really need AI gadgets? Can we not use AI from our smartphones instead? So I took up the challenge to answer this question and tried to replicate features of these AI gadgets using AI apps that are already available for smartphones.

For this comparison, I will take you through several features these dedicated AI gadgets offer and see which AI apps can simulate a similar experience on your phone. I’ll also remark how good they are at performing certain actions.

Asking Questions Using Voice Commands

The main use case with these AI devices is that you can use your voice to ask them anything that crosses your mind and get almost accurate answers for it. AI apps that we have used here can also perform the same thing. Apps likeGemini, ChatGPT, and Copilot support voice commands, so you won’t have to use your phone’s keyboard. ChatGPT Voice even lets you select from different voice models.

Gemini on Android can evenset reminders, timers, read out recent mails, send messages, and make calls. This is one thing that is exclusive to Android devices for now, and you can’t do it on iOS devices or with other AI apps either. As you can see in the screenshots below, in some instances, Gemini triggers Android’s Google Assistant to perform certain actions automatically.

Since we are in the early stages of AI,they do tend to hallucinate and give wrong answerssometimes too confidently. This issue is also prevalent in AI hardware devices. The apps also keep a record of every conversation that you have had with them, so you can go back and revisit them anytime you want, like you can do with the Humane AI pin.

Both Gemini and Copilot are available on iOS, so iPhone users can also do visual searches without any problem.

Humane AI Pin and Rabbit R1 offer live translation services across several languages. While the AI apps mentioned above have the ability to translate words, phrases or texts, they can’t do real-time translation of a conversation.

The Rabbit R1 allows you to interact with a few services such as Spotify, Doordash, Uber, and Midjourney. But instead of having direct integration, Rabbit visits the site with your login information and then does the activities for you. Credit where credit is due, none of the AI apps can interact with third-party services.

ChatGPT has plugin support, but there is no easy way to get them working on mobile. Other than that, onlyGemini has extensions that connect it with other Google services. You can ask for details about your data from Google Drive, summarize your emails, or YouTube videos. It recently received aYouTube Music extension, allowing it to play music and provide recommendations based on your mood.

I noticed that thefree image generation returns somewhat blurry and unrealistic resultscompared to the paid version. Results from ChatGPT and Gemini Advanced came out looking sharper and had more details than what I got from Copilot and the free version of Gemini. One thing to note is Gemini won’t create images of human subjects because of the whole diverse image debacle.

Since these gadgets are solely built with AI in mind, using any one of them means you will haveinstant access to an AI chatbotwith a press of a button. You don’t have to unlock your phone, and then open the AI app of your choice, which is hard to copy. However, there are a few ways to instantly bring up AI apps on your phone that I have managed to find.

Some Android devices have a back tap gesture to open any app on your phone. Use theback-tap gesture to quickly launch an AI app. Samsung devices allow you to customize the side key to start a certain app, so if you have a Samsung phone, try it. iPhone users can create a back-tap shortcut to instantly trigger an AI app. We have added aniCloud linkfor a shortcut to trigger the ChatGPT voice, which you can try for yourself.

You save all this money when you use your phone. All the apps we have mentioned are available for free to use. Most of the AI features are there in the free version, like:

The idea of these AI devices sounds great at first but, practically, makes little sense outside some niche situations.How often do you see people use voice commands in public?You don’t, because your phone may not get it right, and trying it again is not worth the embarrassment.

I alsoglossed over how long these devices take to answer your question or perform a given task. You may be nervously waiting for a minute or two for your device to translate what you said or generate an image. And it may still get it wrong in the end. In contract,AI apps take less time and are more accurate. Except for Copilot, which can take a while to answer.

Yes, AI gadgets do eliminate the distractions of your smartphone. However, I would, instead, like to have AI integration built into existing devices like headphones or smartwatches. Nothing has recently addedChatGPT supportfor their latest Ear and Ear (a) buds, which allows you to trigger ChatGPT voice without waking your device. This is something I’d like to see more devices start adopting. And I’ve previously shown you that you can achieve everything they say on your phone with the help of AI.

As a tech journalist, I dive into the ever-evolving tech landscape with a particular interest for smartphones, apps, and gaming. With a passion for sharing insights, my articles blend expertise with a friendly touch—think of me as your friendly neighborhood tech support.