This $200 device is an entry-level mini Android smartphone

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Already accused of using scripts to execute tasks on the Internet, the r1 rabbit is once again in turmoil after the discovery of a journalist from Android Authority. The r1's “operating system” is an Android application preinstalled on an AOSP terminal, the open source version of Google's system.

Is the hype around “AI gadgets”, a product category supposed to offer new impetus to generative artificial intelligences like ChatGPT, about to implode? After the very poor tests of the Humane Ai Pin, a toy considered too expensive and difficult to use, the rabbit r1 is in full media turmoil, despite its more reasonable price of 199 dollars.

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AOSPfor “Android Open Source Program”, is an open source version of the Android operating system.

For good reason, all the people who analyze it question the relevance of its existence. The central idea is always the same: isn't the smartphone, which is used to do everything today, already the best device for AI? Mishaal Rahman's discovery ofAndroid Authoritythe first to have proven that the r1 runs under AOSP (Android Open Source), further discredits Rabbit since May 1, 2024.

Since the announcement of r1, many have fun saying that it could just be an app. With some hacking, you can actually install it on a smartphone.
Since the announcement of r1, many have fun saying that it could just be an app. With some hacking, you can actually install it on a smartphone. // Source : Capture Android Authority

Emulating the Rabbit R1 on a smartphone is possible

Before this discovery, Rabbit suggested that its product used a proprietary operating system which was controlled with buttons (the touch screen is not used).

In reality, what Rabbit calls “OS” is an Android launcher, a third-party interface installed on top of Google's system. This is an application that runs each time the object is started, to give it a unique visual identity. Technically speaking, the Rabbit R1 is nothing other than a mini Android smartphone, undoubtedly with components very similar to those offered by entry-level manufacturers. The company could very well have launched a “Rabbit” app on the Play Store, so that billions of people could use its service. The proof: it is possible to extract the APK installer from the R1 and launch it on any Android smartphone (or install games on an R1, like DOOM).

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rabbit r1 // Source: YouTube capturerabbit r1 // Source: YouTube capture
The rabbit r1 relies on its design to appeal to geeks. But its interest is very limited. // Source : YouTube capture

Today, the rabbit r1 serves two purposes:

  • it can answer questions asked by voice commands using a language model and execute actions (Spotify, Uber),
  • it can analyze a photo thanks to its on-board mini-camera.

In themselves, these two uses are very comparable to the ChatGPT and Google Gemini applications, available on smartphones. Another indication that Rabbit's $200 gadget is a toy, but certainly not the future of artificial intelligence. It's even more questionable now that we know it's just an app on a mini-smartphone, after we already discovered that Rabbit was cheating to access Spotify or Uber.

Rabbit's response, which refuses to describe its service as an “application”

Unsurprisingly, while Humane and Rabbit's products are causing a lot of talk in the tech community, Mishaal Rahman's discovery has widely circulated in the media across the Atlantic. Jesse Lyu, the boss of the company, quickly responded to the journalist, while denying in an official press release the idea that the rabbit r1 was an Android application (when, technically, it is).

Rabbit also remotely cut off access to its service from an emulator, to prevent smart people from using the APK as they wish.

Jesse Lyu confirms using Android Open Source, but explains that this is normal.Jesse Lyu confirms using Android Open Source, but explains that this is normal.
Jesse Lyu confirms using Android Open Source, but explains that this is normal. // Source : X

“rabbit r1 is not an Android application”, states the company in the press release sent to Android Authority. “rabbit OS and LAM run on the cloud with highly customized AOSP and lower level firmware changes, so a locally installed APK without the proper OS and Cloud endpoints will not be able to access our service”adds Rabbit, who explains that he prevents access to his service without his gadget for security reasons.

On the use of AOSP, Rabbit is not completely wrong. Many devices use AOSP today (Amazon Fire, Meta Quest, Huawei HarmonyOS), since it is an open source and customizable operating system. It is not surprising to see a startup relying on AOSP (like the French The Phone, which caused controversy a few days ago), because designing its own OS is delicate and creates risks of incompatibility.

Still, in the case of rabbit r1, it is not the use of AOSP that is being criticized. The problem remains the same since the product was announced: is a separate object for an AI, even at $200, really useful?

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