Rabbit R1 Review

The Rabbit R1: A Charming Glimpse of a Future That Isn’t Here Yet

Every so often, a device comes along that isn’t just an iteration, but a provocation. The Rabbit R1 is exactly that. It doesn’t want to be your next smartphone; it wants to kill the very idea of it. With its eye-catching design by Teenage Engineering and the promise of a revolutionary “Large Action Model” (LAM) that obviates the need for apps, the R1 arrived on a tsunami of hype. It’s a bold gamble on an AI-native future. But after spending significant time with this little orange square, it’s clear that while the ambition is sky-high, the execution is still firmly on the ground.

A Pocketful of Personality

From the moment you unbox it, the R1 makes a statement. The vibrant, retro-futuristic orange chassis is a delightful departure from the sterile glass-and-metal slabs we carry daily. It’s small, light, and feels more like a souped-up Tamagotchi than a serious computing device. The physical scroll wheel is wonderfully tactile for navigating menus, and the push-to-talk button offers a satisfying, direct way to interact with the assistant. The star of the show is the rotating camera, or “Rabbit Eye,” which swivels up for photos and vision-based queries and tucks itself away for privacy. While the plastic construction doesn’t scream premium, the overall design is cohesive, playful, and undeniably unique. It’s a device that sparks conversation.

An AI Assistant in Beta

The entire premise of the R1 hinges on its Large Action Model. Instead of you tapping through apps, you simply ask the R1 to do things—play a specific playlist, book a ride, or order food. It’s a beautiful idea. In practice, however, the experience is a frustrating mix of minor successes and frequent failures. When it works, like asking it to identify a building using the camera, it feels like magic. But for every successful query, there are several that fall flat.

Requests are often met with long, awkward pauses as the R1 “thinks,” only to return an error or a complete misinterpretation of the command. Simple tasks like playing a specific song on Spotify can become a multi-step negotiation with an AI that seems easily confused. More complex actions, the very ones meant to showcase the LAM’s power, are a roll of the dice. The assistant’s capabilities feel less like a polished product and more like a public beta test. It’s a system that demonstrates immense potential but is hobbled by inconsistency and a lack of speed. The novelty of talking to a dedicated AI device wears thin when your phone can accomplish the same task in a quarter of the time.

A Solution in Search of a Problem

This brings us to the R1’s fundamental challenge: its value proposition. At $199 with no subscription fee, it’s an accessible entry point into the world of AI hardware. Yet, it fails to solve a tangible problem for the average user. It doesn’t replace your phone; it can’t handle messaging reliably, has no social media apps, and its core “action” features are less dependable than the apps they’re meant to supersede. This forces the R1 into the awkward position of being a secondary device—an extra gadget to carry and charge that offers a less reliable way to do things your primary device already does exceptionally well. The battery life further complicates this, often struggling to make it through a full day of moderate use, reinforcing its status as a companion device rather than a standalone tool.

The Verdict: For Enthusiasts and the Patient

The Rabbit R1 is one of the most interesting gadgets of the year, but it is not one of the best. It’s a brilliantly designed, wonderfully ambitious concept piece that offers a tantalizing preview of a potential app-less future. However, it is a product built on promises that its current software cannot keep. The performance is sluggish, the AI is unreliable, and its utility is severely limited.

So, who is this for? The Rabbit R1 is for the die-hard tech enthusiast, the developer, and the early adopter who wants a front-row seat to the development of AI hardware. It’s for someone who finds joy in experimentation and is willing to tolerate a deeply flawed product to be part of the journey. For everyone else, the R1 is a fascinating curiosity to watch from a distance. The future it imagines is compelling, but for now, your smartphone is safe.

Where to Buy:

Check it out on Amazon