Tony Fadell: Why the First Wave of AI Gadgets Failed and What Comes Next
The iPod and iPhone co-creator says the Rabbit R1, Humane AI Pin and Limitless pendant failed because they met no real need. He expects a successful AI agent to run on-device, and sees Apple as best placed to deliver it.
Speaking at the inaugural MIT Future Fest, Tony Fadell, known as the "father of the iPod," a co-creator of the iPhone and the founder of Nest, looked at why the first generation of AI gadgets failed. His presentation showed three discontinued products: the Rabbit R1, the Humane AI Pin and the Limitless pendant.
Fadell said the companies behind them had asked him for help, and he declined. In his view, the makers had not defined which problem they were solving. The devices were interesting technology for enthusiasts but had little relevance to everyday life.
Trusting an assistant
The gadgets promised the convenience of a personal assistant but did not work especially well. Fadell noted that fewer than 0.01% of people have ever had a human assistant, so most consumers do not know what to expect from one. It took him a couple of years to learn how to use an assistant and to trust them with sensitive matters, such as scheduling meetings and dealing with his bank.
He stressed that trust and safety will be paramount for anything handed over to an intelligent system. The article recalls that Meta recently launched its assistant Muse, and a security researcher soon found a serious vulnerability in it. A 404 Media report says some Meta employees found security issues that sent several teams into a rush to fix them before launch.
Apple and on-device intelligence
Fadell believes Apple, and perhaps one other company, could currently build such an agent. Apple has the hardware and chips but lacks its own leading AI model; the new Siri runs on custom versions of Google's Gemini. He predicts a successful agent will run only on the device, for privacy and to keep the technology lightweight, and says he does not believe data centers will conquer the world.
He also suggested that Meta and OpenAI are turning to gadgets because they lack billions of phones with sensors, so they build screenless devices that collect sensor data and relay it through a phone or network.
Asked about luck in finding product-market fit, Fadell said startups get only one shot, unlike Apple with the Vision Pro.
