Rabbit R1 AI box revealed to just be an Android app

  • Rabbit R1 AI box is actually an Android app in a limited $200 box, running on AOSP without Google Play.
  • Rabbit Inc. is unhappy about details of its tech stack being public, threatening action against unauthorized emulators.
  • AOSP is a logical choice for mobile hardware as it provides essential functionalities without the need for Google Play.
SomeGuy69,

I would like to run the apk, anyone got the app download?

MystikIncarnate,

This is the business equivalent of throwing a tantrum.

0x2d,

their page to link accounts to it was not a real webapp, it was a novnc page that would connect to an ubuntu vm that runs chrome with no sandboxing and basic password store under fluxbox wm

someone dumped the home directory from it

Narrowband,

I wish I knew what any of this meant…

SereneHurricane,

It basically implies that they cobbled together some standard technology but they didn’t even put it together very well.

It’s like a solution that’s held in place with chewing gum and Band-Aids.

possiblylinux127,

The “login” was actually a browser based remote access tool. You were signing in on a machine on there network running Chrome.

Someone dumped the contents of that machine.

MystikIncarnate,

Well that’s horrific.

cheet,

Holy shit, that’s actually hilarious, I imagine someone would have noticed when their paste/auto type password managers didn’t work

For those confused, this sounds like instead of making a real website, they spin up a vm, embed a remote desktop tool into their website and have you login through chrome running on their VM, this is sooooo sketch it, its unreal anyone would use this in a public product.

Imagine if to sign into facebook from an app, you had to go to someone else’s computer, login and save your credentials on their PC, would that be a good idea?

brotkel,

What I don’t understand is why. This sounds like way more work than spinning up some out-of-the-box framework with oAuth or a Google login and hosting it on Lambda or Azure. What is logging in on a VM box even going to do for the device?

Ramenator,

I’ve looked it up and it’s even uglier and I can kinda understand why they did it this wayBasically, for their “integrations” they aren’t using any official APIs. Instead they just use the websites and automate them via the Playwright framework. So for each user they have a VM running with a Chrome browser to access the services. So now they have the problem that they need to get their users session cookies into the browser. And the easiest solution for that is having the users access their VM via VNC and just log into the automated browser.
This is such a hacky solution that I’m actually in awe of it’s shittiness. That’s something you throw together in an all-nighter during a Hackathon, not a production ready solution

unreasonabro, (edited )

lmao threatening action against their own imminent irrelevance, more like

Not cool guys, not cool at all

And get serious - fuck your “proprietary” details, fuck lying/misrepresentation for money, and fuck you for trying a stunt like this.

Call me when you actually put the genie in the bottle!

fidodo,

Ubuntu is just a bunch of apps running on Debian! Did you know you can take Ubuntu app .deb files and run them on Debian?

Look. The R1 is stupid, but this isn’t the reason why.

possiblylinux127,

What? .deb aren’t app files they are debian packages

What are you talking about? The article didn’t mention Ubuntu once

fidodo,

Apk literally stands for Android package. I’m making an analogy. 🤦

SereneHurricane,

The difference here is Ubuntu is open about the fact that stand on the shoulders of something greater than them.

R1 in contrast pretend that everything they’ve built is proprietary, and therefore no one could possibly come up with something similar.

When it’s clearly not the case.

This is critical, not for the purpose of sales, but for the purpose of retaining investor value.

The whole thing reeks of an exercise to generate artificial investor value.

If investors find out that their so-called innovation can actually be done by anyone with some coding skills and connectivity to open AI, then the company value will drop like a hot turd.

slimarev92,

Ubuntu is a piece of software. R1 is supposedly a piece of hardware that runs “Rabbit OS”.

lorkano,

Such a bad comparison. In the case of Debian and Ubuntu apps you run both apps on your hardware you already have. In case of rabbit, you could just run app on your phone instead of buying rabbit. Rabbit does not offer anything more than their app does when installed on android phone. It’s even better on android phone because phone is faster.

valid,
danhab99,
@danhab99@programming.dev avatar

•Rabbit Inc. is unhappy about details of its tech stack being public, threatening action against unauthorized emulators.

All android devices are “emulators” like their hardware isn’t special

deltreed,
@deltreed@lemmy.world avatar

I mean, isn’t all software just an app that runs on hardware?

nexguy,
@nexguy@lemmy.world avatar

Next you’re going to tell me that lemmy is one of these dirty dirty apps

Wiz,

Lemmy is a dirty, dirty app, but that’s not why!

deltreed,
@deltreed@lemmy.world avatar

Nahhh, not as dirty as Reddit.

Matriks404,

I don’t even understand what the point is of this product. Seems like e-waste at first glance.

pewgar_seemsimandroid,

humane ai pin that actually is usable with 4 apps

maeries,

It’s just a hype app and the hardware is a fancy licence key

fidodo,

It’s just marketing to be like “look at how capable our AI is with just one button”. I mean if you want to be charitable it’s an interesting design exercise, but wasteful and frivolous when everyone is already carrying devices that are far more capable supersets of this.

VirtualOdour,

I defend a lot of misunderstood ai but this doesn’t have any good qualities even if it wasn’t a scam

Zoots,

An app that would require root access to fully operate. It is designed to run and use apps automatically. Large Action Mode, I think. Easiest way to get this out is a standalone device

HelloHotel,
@HelloHotel@lemmy.world avatar

I may not fully understand the situation, but AOSP offers an API called Accessability that allows an app to hook and modify how the user interacts with the UI. the best example is probably Talkback.

laxe,

Should’ve named the company Snake Oil Inc.

finkrat,

This is why I cringe at cell phone manufacturers selling cloud and AI features based on phone models because wtf you’re not running that cloud on that handset so why do you gatekeep the product behind that model? It can’t require that many resources, it’s a cloud app!

Wizard_Pope,
@Wizard_Pope@lemmy.world avatar

It is to make you spend more to buy the better model. If you really want that AI you won’t mind spending a bit more

finkrat,

I know what you’re getting at and this isn’t directed at you and I know this is why it’s done, but the capabilities of the phone don’t have any bearing on the use of the AI so why gatekeep it? It’s a dumb way to make a profit.

Malfeasant,

It’s a dumb way to make a profit.

If it works, is it dumb?

When VHS was still around, DVDs were priced higher even though they were much cheaper to produce. If people are willing to pay more, producers/distributors will charge more. Yay capitalism.

Wizard_Pope,
@Wizard_Pope@lemmy.world avatar

I know. It’s dumb as hell. Just like everything being priced at 4.99 instead of 5.00. people are just stupid and it seems to wprk out for the companies.

echodot,

The processing was done server-side as it is with the other thing. If you find a way to do it client-side let me know otherwise I’m not interested in your dumb product.

Zink,

Spoiler: when they let you know about the better device, your phone will already be much better at the same client-side processing anyway.

Natanael,

Yes, but it’s also unauthenticated (it doesn’t verify it comes from the real device, or even run an account belonging to a device owner)

You just need the app

Jakeroxs,

Until they inevitably shut it down

fidodo,

What, you aren’t excited about a future where everything is cloud computing spyware that sends all your activity to an AI to be analyzed and picked apart by strangers?

vox,
@vox@sopuli.xyz avatar

it has the same cpu as my budget 100$ phone from 2018 lol

cley_faye,

It does not need much to upload data and play audio. They could probably have gone even lower.

capital,
Ohi,

Bravo. I need to watch this show again…

BaardFigur,

Then it has a surprisingly strong cpu

vox,
@vox@sopuli.xyz avatar

yeah but it’s also a power hog, power usage never dropped below 1200ma on idle on my phone

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