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Over at Android Authority, <\/em>Mishaal Rahman managed to download Rabbit\u2019s launcher APK on a Google Pixel 6A<\/a>. With a little tweaking, he was able to run the app as if it were on Rabbit\u2019s own device. Using the volume-up key in place of the R1\u2019s single hardware button, he was able to set up an account and start asking it questions, just as if he was using the $199 R1. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Rahman points out that the app probably doesn\u2019t offer all of the same functionality as the R1. In his words: \u201cthe Rabbit R1\u2019s launcher app is intended to be preinstalled in the firmware and be granted several privileged, system-level permissions \u2014 only some of which we were able to grant \u2014 so some of the functions would likely fail if we tried.\u201d But the fact that the software runs on a midrange phone from almost two years ago suggests that it has more in common with a plain \u2018ol Android app than not.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The R1 isn\u2019t alone; Humane\u2019s AI pin appears to run on a version<\/a> of Android\u2019s open-source software, too. But it\u2019s the R1 in the hot seat right now as the first reviews have started to trickle out \u2014 and they\u2019re not great, Bob<\/a>. Rabbit issued its first software update<\/a> earlier today to address some complaints, including a fast-draining battery. That<\/em> issue seems to be better controlled post-update; my R1\u2019s idle battery performance is vastly improved after downloading the update this morning.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n But the bigger problem is that the R1 just doesn\u2019t do enough useful things to justify its existence when, you know, phones<\/em> exist. We\u2019ve reached out to Rabbit for comment on this, and we\u2019ll update this article if the company has a statement. In the meantime, it looks like this AI gadget could have just been an app<\/a> after all.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n