- Logitech CEO Hanneke Faber ruled out standalone GenAI hardware as unnecessary
- She advocates incorporating AI into existing products, such as Logitech webcams and MX Master 4 with Copilot integration.
- Competing approaches include Ray-Ban’s Meta Gen 2 smart glasses and Plaud’s NotePin AI recorder.
For Hanneke Faber, CEO of Logitech, installing Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) on standalone hardware is simply a “solution looking for a problem that doesn’t exist.”
Logitech is a Swiss PC peripherals maker that makes keyboards, mice, and other components, and its CEO expressed these comments in a recent interview with Bloomberg. He said this in the context of the Humane AI Pin and Rabbit R1, two hardware devices that were released last year and received quite a bit of criticism.
These products were supposed to replace the smartphone in some respects, but apparently failed by being slow, limited in features, and locked by subscriptions.
Incorporate AI into existing hardware
That said, they managed to start a conversation about whether general-purpose AI should be integrated into a standalone device. Faber maintains that there is nothing these devices can do that smartphones and PCs can’t do, and they do it better.
Instead, companies should focus more on including generative AI in their existing products, he believes. Logitech webcams already work with AI in that they can reframe the shot when necessary and intelligently filter out background noise. The successor to one of the most famous computer mice out there, the MX Master 4 has a dedicated button that displays ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot.
Ray-Ban is on the way to completing something in this regard. Its Meta Gen 2 smart glasses are a wearable device that integrates AI, cameras, a microphone, and AR-like features, and the company says they will be useful for hands-free photo and video capture, voice commands, and AI-assisted tasks such as translation, live captions, and the like.
At the same time, there are other creative startups building entirely new hardware from scratch, like the Plaud NotePin wearable AI voice recorder. This wearable pin/clip/neck strap records audio and uses AI to transcribe, label speakers, and more. It is marketed for meetings, conferences and the like.
Which approach succeeds in the end? We’ll have to wait and see. One thing is certain: the future will be full of AI-powered devices.
Through The Registry
The best antivirus for all budgets
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to receive news, reviews and opinions from our experts in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form and receive regular updates from us on WhatsApp also.
