Earbuds may be the next overrated gadget of generative artificial intelligence

Over the past few months, we’ve seen a new category of weird AI gadgets emerge and fail almost immediately despite massive hype cycles. Now another startup is looking to try out the AI-powered generative gadget and may have a better chance of success.

Iyo, a startup that was born out of Google’s “moonshot factory” called X (not to be confused with the site better known as Twitter) and operated on its own, plans to release wireless earbuds this winter that will integrate generative artificial intelligence. Nicknamed “Iyo One” TechCrunch reports that these headphones will be more than just an AI gadget and will be premium headphones.

According to TechCrunchThe earbuds are larger than other wireless Bluetooth earbuds, so they can last up to 16 hours on a charged battery when paired with your phone via Bluetooth. The Iyo One will also offer a cellular mode without a tethered handset, although this reduces battery life to a paltry hour and a half.

Perhaps the biggest benefit is that the Iyo One headphones won’t require a monthly subscription, although cellular features will require a plan from your carrier. Still, the Iyo One will cost $599 (about $820 CAD) for the Wi-Fi version and $699 (about $955 CAD) for the cellular version.

Humane’s Ai Pin gadgets and Rabbit’s R1 gadgets offered little beyond AI features, which admittedly didn’t work well. And since there was nothing else attractive about the gadgets, people had no reason to buy them. Additionally, a common criticism was that the gadgets could have simply been smartphone apps instead, especially in the case of the Rabbit R1, which turned out to be just that.

However, the Iyo One headphones sound like a really decent product, regardless of the integrated AI features. This might make people more willing to try them out because if the AI ​​part doesn’t work, at least you still have Bluetooth earbuds. The One in-ear headphones won’t be Iyo’s first product either – the company also makes the pricey Vad Pro in-ear headphones, which are essentially in-ear studio reference monitors.

Of course, time will tell whether Iyo will be able to do this. As mentioned at the top, Humane and Rabbit failed despite significant hype. And while wireless earbuds are really popular, it’s also a category that’s highly competitive, including from top tech players like Apple, Google, and Samsung. For some, it might be hard to sell that much money for AI earbuds from an unknown startup, even if it came from Google.

You can find more about Iyo One donuts here.

Photo source: Iyo

source: Techcrunch