Aravind Srinivas, CEO of the AI search engine Perplexity AI, recently shared on a social media platform that he is considering developing a device priced under $50, designed to provide reliable answers. Srinivas describes Perplexity not as a search engine but as an answer engine. The new device is expected to be purely audio-based, allowing users to ask questions through spoken language and receive spoken responses.
In his post, Srinivas mentioned, “If this post gets more than 5000 likes, I will definitely do it.” The post indeed received over 5000 likes, prompting Srinivas to respond with “Alright. LFG!” However, details about when the device will be released, how far along the development is, or whether the device will possess additional capabilities beyond audio interactions remain unclear.
Currently, many major AI providers are announcing their intentions to enter the hardware market, focusing primarily on consumer products. For instance, OpenAI is known to be collaborating with Jony Ive on a device that is said to be “less intrusive than the iPhone.” Ive is the former chief designer at Apple.
Meta has already introduced a device with their Ray-Ban glasses, which utilize Meta AI, the company’s artificial intelligence, via voice control. Google is also reportedly working on a new version of smart glasses after the original Google Glasses were discontinued years ago due to lack of interest and privacy concerns. AI, however, is bringing new potential to the market. Mark Zuckerberg refers to glasses as the most important new category of devices, although his AR glasses, Orion, are still in the prototype stage.
Midjourney, known for its image generation software, has also established a hardware development team. It’s known that one of the leading members previously worked at Neuralink and was involved in the development of the Apple Vision Pro.
Despite these advancements, there have been challenges. Two companies, Humane’s AI Pin and Rabbit’s R1, have nearly failed with their new hardware introductions. Criticisms included missing or poorly functioning promised features and security issues.
Perplexity AI, however, is collaborating with Telekom, which has announced plans for an AI smartphone. Jonathan Abrahamson from Telekom mentioned in an online interview that reactions to the concept were “stratospheric,” indicating a substantial demand for a new way of interacting with technology. He believes that the current model of having 200 apps on a smartphone is outdated.
These developments highlight the ongoing evolution in the tech industry, where AI is increasingly integrated into consumer products, potentially transforming how people interact with technology. As AI continues to advance, the promise of more intuitive and seamless user experiences becomes more tangible.