After months of controversy, the Humane AI Pin already seems like it’s standing at the precipice of its own grave. On Thursday, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission report gave the AI wearable a firm push closer to the edge over the company’s botched battery charger. Humane announced it was “voluntarily” recalling 10,500 units of its egg-shaped charge case accessory for the AI Pin over concerns it could overheat, potentially causing a fire.
According to the CPSC recall page, no injuries have been reported due to the charge case overheating. Only one report of a charge case overheating and “melting” while plugged in reportedly caused no injuries. Auspiciously, on Halloween day, Humane said it was “voluntarily recalling” the charging case after getting a single report of an issue caused by a “third-party USB-C cable and a third-party power source.”
The company did not clarify what a “third-party power source” means. That could technically relate to any power brick, charging pack, or even an outlet. Humane told owners to stop using the original charging cases in June due to a “fire safety risk.” It’s been more than four months since then, and it appears the company was unable to find any fix.
However, Humane stressed that the issue was unrelated to the AI Pin’s hardware design. Either way, the CPSC tells any lingering Humane users to immediately stop using the charge case. They can contact Humane for a $150 refund or replacement. Users who either got the charge case individually or at a discount with the AI Pin Complete bundle. In the latter case, users can only hope to see $130.
“We have identified a new battery cell vendor for the Charge Case Accessory and are conducting a thorough qualification process,” the company wrote. “We estimate replacement Charge Case Accessories will be available in 3 to 6 months.”
Out of an abundance of caution, Humane is voluntarily recalling its Charge Case Accessory. Upon receiving a single report of a charging issue while using a third-party USB-C cable and third-party power source, we identified a quality issue with the battery cell supplied by a… pic.twitter.com/xXQ4WquuD3
— Humane Ground Control (@Humane_help) October 31, 2024
With the recall, using the AI Pin on the go is much harder. Even at launch, reviewers noted just how warm the AI Pin could get, not to mention the heat the Charge Case was putting out. The AI Pin is a wearable that’s supposed to act as a constant, always-on “assistant.” However, it proved very power-hungry, requiring users to swap out a new battery every few hours. That’s why the charge case was necessary to keep the assistant going when out on the town. Now, the only real option to charge the battery packs is either directly through the device or on the $80 charge pad.
Bloomberg reported in May that Humane was looking to sell its company for between $750 and $1 billion. This was just a month after the release, and it’s currently unclear how any of these SNAFUs with the pin have impacted any original plans for a sale.
Last week, Humane revealed it was launching an SDK and licensing opportunities for its CosmOS. This will let outside companies or programmers create their own AI agents to operate on the Pin or anybody else who decides to adopt the company’s operating system.
Personal AI devices still haven’t made a case for themselves. The Rabbit R1 also launched to panned reviews, then was mired in controversy over its Android-based software and privacy issues. The Ray Ban Meta glasses work well enough as simple picture and video glasses, but Meta’s AI is terrible at recognizing objects.
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