Are AI-led, voice-based devices capable to standing up to smartphones? Not yet, on this evidence.

Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, the buzz around conversational AI – or large language models (LLM) – has reached fever pitch.

Now two firms – Humane and Rabbit – have attempted to cash in on the trend with standalone devices designed to convince buyers to drop their smartphones in favour of something primarily designed to be interacted with through voice.

The motherboard is densely packed to fit its diminutive size

Hardware-wise, Humane’s AI Pin is probably the most interesting of the two, and is designed to be clipped onto a shirt or jacket and operated using voice commands. While it lacks a traditional screen, it does come with a tiny laser projector that beams information onto a user’s hand that can be interacted with.

The tiny device also sports a camera that can supposedly recognise objects in the world around it, and a wireless battery pack that doubles as a clip to keep...