The Rabbit R1 was a really popular gadget at the start of 2024. But it did not do all the things that Rabbit promised it would do. In an interview, Rabbit CEO Jesse Lyu said “When we first launched, we told people it could do too much.” But he also said an update coming next week will let the powerful Large Action Model (LAM) be used by anyone with an R1.
Over the last 6 months, Rabbit has been working hard on the R1. They released 16 updates to fix bugs and make it work better. However, the R1 is still only able to talk to 7 apps like Uber and Spotify. It can’t do general tasks on its own.
The update coming next week will finally let the LAM do any normal task without being tied to a single app. Lyu showed me how this new LAM can help plan trips, buy tickets, register websites, and even play online games – all by understanding the websites themselves without needing special programming.
Right now the LAM uses a separate web browser in the cloud. But Rabbit is working on versions that can work locally on devices too. They also want to make the LAM work across Windows, Mac, and phones – not just the R1.
The demo was good but the LAM still has room for improvement. It needs help from people to skip unnecessary steps. And it doesn’t remember user preferences yet. Rabbit also doesn’t collect user data now to make the LAM better.
Some critics say Rabbit should have made an app instead of the R1 device. But Lyu believes apps from companies like Apple and Google will never be as good because those companies want users in their own worlds. The R1 update goes live for all owners on October 1st.
