Urgent fireplace security warning issued over AI Pin’s charger
- Tech startup emails users over fire safety issue for AI Pin’s charging case
- READ MORE: People are calling ‘iPhone killer’ AI Pin the worst gadget ever
Silicon Valley startup Humane has told users to stop using the charging case that came with its AI Pin, citing safety concerns.
In an email, the firm asks users to ‘immediately stop using and charging your Charge Case’ due to an issue with ‘certain battery cells’.
Battery cells – containers that chemically store energy in the charger – are defective and ‘may pose a fire safety risk’, it warns.
AI Pin is the bizarre gadget that projects a display onto your palm, but it’s been blasted for issues including overheating and AI that delivers ‘incorrect answers’.
It comes as Humane reportedly attempts to sell itself to US tech giant HP for around $1 billion.
AI Pin, created by Silicon Valley startup Humane, relies on talking and tapping, rather than typing, to perform commands like sending messages and getting updates
The issue is with AI Pin’s charging case (pictured), which contains battery cells posing a fire hazard when charged
Humane has told users of the battery issue in an email, but has not posted the warning on its website or social media, as reported by the Verge.
The tech firm says: ‘We identified a quality issue with the battery cell supplied by a third-party vendor used in your Charge Case Accessory.
‘Our investigation determined that the battery supplier was no longer meeting our quality standards.
‘There is a potential that certain battery cells supplied by this vendor may pose a fire safety risk.’
Humane says the AI Pin is still safe to use and can instead be charged through its Charging Pad, an alternative charging device that came with it.
Instead of displaying information on a screen, it uses laser projection to display text and monochromatic images on a user’s hand
AI Pin – created by two former Apple employees who became disillusioned with apps – relies on talking and tapping, rather than typing, to perform commands like sending messages and getting updates.
Instead of displaying information on a screen, it uses a laser projection system to display text and monochromatic images on the user’s hand.
AI Pin contains a virtual assistant powered by technologies from OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, and cloud computing power from Microsoft.
Along with the $699 cost of the device itself, a $24 per month subscription gets users a phone number and data through T-Mobile’s network.
AI Pin was billed as the ‘iPhone killer’ leading up to its release in November on the basis that it could replace the smartphone with a totally new concept.
But the device has been largely slated by reviewers, including YouTuber Marques Brownlee who called it ‘the worst product I’ve ever reviewed’.
He called it ‘too much of a pain to use’ and ‘bad at almost everything it does’, while the in-built AI assistant is ‘just wrong all the time’.
It’s yet to be seen if the public will prefer tapping an object on their chest as opposed to pulling their phone out of their pocket
AI Pin is retailing at $699, and this doesn’t include an additional monthly price if you want it to phone people
In an embarrassing publicity gaffe, AI Pin gave wrong answers in a promo video, including misinformation on an upcoming eclipse.
Meanwhile, the Verge called it ‘an interesting idea’ but ‘so thoroughly unfinished and so totally broken in so many unacceptable ways that I can’t think of anyone to whom I’d recommend spending the $699’.
In a more positive review, Inverse likened Humane’s AI Pin to the first generation of the Apple Watch, which ‘didn’t get good until Series 3’.
‘If Humane can make some big improvements by the second or third generation, I think this AI-powered wearable that hangs off your shirt could have a future,’ the reviewer said.
