Why hasn’t AI hardware broken out as the next big thing?
What we can learn from Humane and Rabbit’s GTM strategies.
If AI software is eating the world, why hasn’t AI hardware had an iPhone moment?
Over the last 6 months, two potentially revolutionary AI hardware devices have hit the market — Humane & Rabbit.
While both are beautifully designed pieces of technology, neither of them were able to capture the zeitgeist like ChatGPT.
So today I thought we’d break each of them down: Highlight their marketing strategies, missed opportunities, & future considerations to drive adoption.
Let’s start with Humane.
Humane is an AI hardware device founded by two former Apple execs.
They position their product as “an AI pin,” priced at $699 with a $24 / month subscription.
My first impression of their brand:
Sleek
Leans black & white + colorful, in-context photography
Futuristic vibes
After examining their brand in detail, here were my top observations:
Hu.ma.ne is a weird domain name.
Weird can be good, but this feels SO unfamiliar that it might block adoption. Do they expect people to remember & share it?
Lack of consistency cheapens their premium brand feeling.
On their search results and throughout their marketing they capitalize the “A” in “Ai”, yet “ai” is lowercase when you arrive on their homepage. It’s a small detail that immediately erodes trust, especially for a product that’s trying to sell at a high price point.
I searched “humane” on google (since I couldn’t remember their domain) and their metadata is a mess. You can say you’re a premium product, but it doesn’t mean much if you don’t feel like one.
The why behind their key benefit isn’t clear: “Screen-free, hands-free, & app-free.”
While their key benefit is interesting, they fail to frame it in an emotionally compelling way.
If you’ve been following this newsletter, you’ve probably heard me opine on Steve Jobs favorite marketing tactic, the “virus of doubt” which revolves around annoying the customer all over again before priming them with your solution.
I believe Humane’s biggest misstep is pushing their laser ink, hands-free display (an unfamiliar innovation) without giving their customer a problem to relate to (and ultimately rally around).
Their other key message isn’t differentiated in the slightest: “Bring Ai with you everywhere and interact with the world around you.”
I can already access AI on my phone through ChatGPT, Perplexity, Arc, etc.
Reading through each feature, it wasn’t immediately obvious to me how using this device was that much more powerful than using Siri. I can at least call Siri via voice; with Humane I have to touch and hold the pin.
All of this goes back to how they frame the problem: What’s wrong with bringing AI with me everywhere on my phone? If you can help me understand how painful this is (even if it’s not immediately top-of-mind) then you open me up to new solutions.
Their marketing highlights the product’s sleek design over what it can do for you.
“Discovery as the speed of thought” is an intriguing line. But instead of visually highlighting what they can help you discover, they showcase the product instead.
Once you get to the landing page, they force you to dig for key information.
Upon landing on their site, it’s not obvious what their product does. At first glance I have no idea why I need it or where it fits into my life.
They force me to dig for that information (via watching the video or by clicking learn more). Which makes me think their bounce rate is extremely high and conversion is really low.
Also, their pricing isn’t as clear as it could be. While they put “Starting at $699” front and center on their landing page, you have to dig to find the $24 / month subscription which also erodes trust.
Okay, so how might they break out?
No one is going to rally around an AI pin. The question I’d be asking: What would it look like to champion a movement around a screen-free future?
If I were running marketing at Humane, instead of putting their product design on center stage, I’d paint a clearer picture of the problem: Why phones, apps, & screens are negatively detracting from the human experience. And once I had the audience by the heartstrings, only then would I introduce our solution.
Secondly, I’d lean more into why they exist to build a stronger emotional connection with their audience. People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And unfortunately for Humane, they bury their why on their about and story pages.
The following statement in the last paragraph puts everything they do into context. And gives a community of early believers who believe the same things a reason to rally around them. Yet it’s nowhere to be found on any of their prime real estate.
Their why feels like the missing ingredient to connect-the-dots between such a futuristic device and present day consumer needs. If they can frame what’s missing in a way people can relate to, their features would be more powerful.
Now let’s breakdown Rabbit.
Rabbit positions themselves as a “pocket companion” for $199 + no subscription.
My first impression of their brand:
Also futuristic, but more friendly (rabbit logo, more colorful)
Beautifully designed hardware
More intriguing positioning
After examining their brand in detail, here were my top observations:
Significantly cheaper than Humane.
Beyond being $400 less expensive, they are very forward about the no subscription required, something Humane seemed to bury in the fine print.
There is NO mention of AI anywhere in their search results.
Stark difference after reading through Humane who champions AI everywhere.
It’s clear Rabbit is selling you superpowers (although unclear exactly what they are via search) while Humane is selling you the tech of AI.
I even find it interesting how rabbit’s domain is .tech instead of .ai…feels like a larger surface area to take advantage of down the line.
Their “your pocket companion” positioning is WAY more compelling than Humane.
Instead of touting their function, they lean into the emotional benefit of using their product.
Yet they totally drop by ball when they fall short of explaining what it means and why it’s valuable across the customer journey.
In this ad, they talk about how they “simplify your day by doing digital tasks for you.”
Okay, you have my attention! What kinds of digital tasks? How do you simplify my day?
I would have loved for them to visualize what they meant both in the ad creative and on their landing page, but they instead choose to showcase the beauty of the hardware itself.
They ultimately lose me on their landing page by prioritizing their industrial design & features specs over showing me why, how, and where rabbit fits into my life.
Similar to Humane, they miss a huge opportunity to build a movement of early believers around the problem they’re solving.
By positioning their product as “your pocket companion” they are actually stating they are in the companionship business, a really smart framing as loneliness is trending in popular culture.
But instead of telling that story, they showcase features like “push to talk” and “far field mic” instead of showing me how rabbit is the ultimate companion — both in what it does and in how it feels.
What should they change to break out?
Rabbit’s “your pocket’s companion” positioning is compelling, but incomplete.
Their opportunity lies in finishing their story—why does a pocket companion need to exist? Who could benefit from a pocket companion? Where does it fit into their lives? What kind of lifestyle are they championing?
Final thoughts
Behavior change is so incredibly hard; especially when you’re asking people to move off their phone to try a new device.
The golden rule: If you’re going to ask someone to change their behavior, they need a 10x more compelling reason as to why.
To break out as the next big thing, AI hardware brands should champion a movement around the problem they’re solving, rather than defaulting to selling beautifully designed products.
I’m excited to see how this plays out.