> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://spyglass.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The Hard Thing About Hardware 📧 - URL: https://spyglass.org/ai-consumer-hardware/ - Published: 2024-04-12T17:00:55.000Z - Updated: 2024-04-20T09:02:58.000Z - Description: Will the rise of AI lead to new consumer hardware? - Author: M.G. Siegler - Tags: from afar, ai, startups, vc, humane, chatgpt [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/af/ca/afcaa655-46e2-45b8-889a-2881de5cce69/content/images/2024/04/FAsgRECT-3.png)](https://spyglass.org/tag/from-afar/) Brutal. [Just brutal](https://spyglass.org/humane-ai-pin-brutal-review/). That's the best way to describe [David Pierce's review](https://www.theverge.com/24126502/humane-ai-pin-review?ref=spyglass.org) of Humane's new AI Pin for *The Verge*. And [the other reviews](https://www.techmeme.com/240411/p11?ref=spyglass.org#a240411p11) of the device aren't much better. While some of the issues stem from the ridiculous and folly PR strategy the company deployed leading up to the launch – think: [this changes *everything*](https://twitter.com/Humane/status/1549414734570541056?ref=spyglass.org) – and more can be chalked up to the device just failing to do what it sets out to do way too often, there's a broader question about the role of hardware in our new AI epoch. That is to ask: do we really need new hardware at all? At a higher level still, the answer is yes. While smartphones currently completely and utterly dominate the world and our lives, there will always be a push to figure out ["what's next"](https://spyglass.org/apple-odds-ends-leading-up-to-ai-day/). Apple has built a nearly $3T company [on this premise](https://spyglass.org/apple-ai-cook/). And that's good, they'll keep pushing such envelopes. But the more granular question here is if AI specifically warrants some sort of new hardware paradigm? The inverse of this situation is usually the case: we await the next new thing in hardware because such devices may unlock the potential for new services and thus, companies to be built. This obviously happened to an amazing extent with the iPhone and Android. And the Mac and PC before that. (The iPad? Less so. The Apple Watch? No. The Vision Pro? [Not yet](https://spyglass.org/vision-pro-start-up/), perhaps never.) But the thinking here is that AI is the new platform that could unlock not only new software companies, but new *hardware* ones as well. Hence, Humane. And [Rabbit](https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/9/24030667/rabbit-r1-ai-action-model-price-release-date?ref=spyglass.org). And [whatever Sam Altman and Jony Ive are cooking up](https://www.theinformation.com/articles/jony-ive-and-sam-altmans-ai-device-startup-in-funding-talks-with-emerson-thrive?rc=lsmcir&ref=spyglass.org). Etc. *(I should note, I'm obviously talking about *consumer* hardware here – there are a lot of chip companies, for example, being built on the other side of all these equations.)* One problem here is that AI seems likely to permeate basically everything, to some extent. It's perhaps hard to see it now in these early days, but AI may very well be the new website, meaning while there are some things that are built thanks to this new technology layer, it's also just a table-stakes layer that every company and service implements in some fashion. So the real question is what can a specific part of the AI stack do that wasn't possible before, and does a new piece of consumer hardware supercharge such capabilities? It's one of those questions that is going to be impossible to know for sure without trying. And so in that regard, Humane and other early movers here clearly deserve kudos, for showing what *not* to do, if nothing else. But my instinct would be that most of the beneficiaries on the consumer hardware side of AI are going to be many of the existing players. Notably, [of course](https://spyglass.org/google-ai-iphone/), [the smartphones](https://spyglass.org/aiphone/). But perhaps even more so, the Apple Watch and AirPods. Devices which are smaller and can benefit from a new computing paradigm that isn't just about an app on a screen. Many of these current hardware plays, and certainly the devices created by Apple, also have a scale advantage so as to make whatever AI they're using better, faster. And, of course, they have a distribution advantage which allows them to manufacture, ship, and sell hardware in a way that no startup is going to be able to come close to, let alone match. That's all mildly depressing to hear/think about if you're a startup and/or investor. The big guys win again. But there are perhaps ways to play here, it just likely has to be at such a smaller scale and scope to start. To pick on Humane again – and, to be clear and fair, they were working on their project long before the explosion of ChatGPT onto the scene – I probably wouldn't do an AI pin with a camera to start (and certainly not with a superfluous projector!). I would probably start with a super simple voice-only pin. One that's tied to your phone which you're going to have on you anyway. You tap it, you ask it questions, you get your information, you go about your day. Yes, an Apple Watch can do something similar now, but the advantage there can be leveraged as a weakness too: because that device can do so much more and is better known as a health tracker and/or notification device, whereas the AI element via Siri is largely [a laughing stock](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTefnhbg0Ig&ref=spyglass.org), a new AI pin could be billed as just a simple, fun way to interact with AI at a tap. That's it. That's the product. It's almost [like a toy](https://cdixon.org/2010/01/03/the-next-big-thing-will-start-out-looking-like-a-toy?ref=spyglass.org). And that's the point. And that's the path. From there, you add the camera in v2\. You eventually add cellular capabilities. You get the picture. (Though ideally not through that projector.) There's a risk it ends up like the Pebble Watch, which was great back in the day – I had one! – and now is sort of lost in time with the rise of the Apple Watch. But startups remain hard, you have to execute, fast. And again, use the big players size against them. Lastly, I would just say that OpenAI and some of the other model-makers probably have an advantage in executing the above because they can tailor their models to such use cases. But who knows. This is all evolving so rapidly that maybe interacting with a voice bot isn't even that interesting a few months from now. Maybe any consumer hardware play comes from a connected camera. [Or yes, Ray-Bans](https://spyglass.org/hey-meta-ai-glasses/). Or something [along those lines](https://500ish.com/lens-flair-dd2c477a1a46?ref=spyglass.org). Or maybe something entirely different. Just start small. And perhaps tangential to something that seems obvious. [Like Square back in the day](https://techcrunch.com/2009/05/08/nuts-twitter-inventor-about-to-launch-his-next-project-code-named-squirrel/?ref=spyglass.org). A credit card swiper that [plugs into a headphone jack](https://techcrunch.com/2009/12/01/jack-dorsey-square/?guccounter=1&guce%5Freferrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce%5Freferrer%5Fsig=AQAAAMW51peaSmEzzCwiD7m6%5Fiq%5F2BkgZk2pYl94W8AJewxqTnaVsEuT1NvQoJ45xkdEM71Jlttr7QxOX4e8N0W62UH2n9dDOyAZweeuGk1Jc6jgqyLlmt26QtbQVIHIMFmRdoJb8WIyHjU6RK8cAXdW2BXTnK1zCO3zGsiocrQ20xxj&ref=spyglass.org). Now it's a $50B public company that [streams music](https://www.vox.com/recode/22313268/tidal-square-jay-z-jack-dorsey-nft-explainer?ref=spyglass.org) (to the AI Pin, no less) and builds [crypto wallets](https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/07/block-releases-bitkey-hardware-wallet-to-95-countries-kinda/?ref=spyglass.org). We all get distracted at scale, I guess. Not getting distracted by everything you *can* do can be a huge advantage. Still, hardware is hard. 🌍 Sent from London --- ### Briefly... [**AI-Music Arms Race: Meet Udio, the Other ChatGPT for Music**](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/udio-ai-music-chatgpt-suno-1235001675/?ref=spyglass.org)– Back on the software side of things, [last week I linked to Suno](https://spyglass.org/drowning-in-the-streams/), the AI music generator which was all kinds of fun. And this week, of course, there's a new player in town. This is great for consumers, but for investors it's *wild*. One minute you're investing in image generation, then it's on to music, and then on to video. Dozens of players in each category, constantly shifting and one-upping and changing models and directions. As [Harry Potter Balenciaga](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE39q-IKOzA&ref=spyglass.org) gives way to [C3PO/Gambino](https://twitter.com/daniel%5Feckler/status/1778421669201093057?s=61&t=BvqkRVFPUHpno4JRDvuXFA&ref=spyglass.org). [**The Composers of 'X-Men ‘97' Had to Evolve the Show’s Sound**](https://www.theverge.com/24120898/x-men-97-newton-brothers-interview-marvel?ref=spyglass.org) – The show, currently streaming on Disney+, is fantastic. It's truly a continuation of the original, which I grew up watching (also available to stream), but subtly updated and better; surprisingly adult-oriented. And the best part, per the link, is the sound. I really think it may be [the best theme song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkIlM0lYtT0&ref=spyglass.org) of any show, ever. I know that sounds crazy. But it's such an absolute earworm. And the thought put into this aspect alone is rather wild. [**Apple Plans to Overhaul Entire Mac Line With AI-Focused M4 Chips**](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-11/apple-aapl-readies-m4-chip-mac-line-including-new-macbook-air-and-mac-pro?ref=spyglass.org) – If it feels like Apple *just* updated their machines to M3 chips, it's because they did. And actually a number of machines are still on M2 chips. But we're apparently already on the verge of an M4 update now as well. Unclear if this is a push [from Microsoft](https://spyglass.org/microsoft-windows-ai-surface/), or from [the AI arms race](https://spyglass.org/apple-ai-cook/), or [both](https://spyglass.org/wwdc24-apple-ai/). But like AI itself, [it's a whirlwind](https://www.ft.com/content/4798ab77-e063-4784-bdf3-19852b41fd1f?ref=spyglass.org). ### My Missives... [Meta’s Only Slightly Better Than Burning Books Plan...How Tech Giants Cut Corners to Harvest Data for A.I. Meta debated buying a publisher like Simon & Schuster for AI training data... The New York Times Various There is a lot in this NYT report – bylined by five reporters: Cade Metz, Cecilia Kang, Sheera Frenkel, Stuart A. Thompson and![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/af/ca/afcaa655-46e2-45b8-889a-2881de5cce69/content/images/size/w256h256/2024/01/Spyglass-Rings---Multi.png)SpyglassM.G. Siegler![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/af/ca/afcaa655-46e2-45b8-889a-2881de5cce69/content/images/2024/04/Robot-eating-book-painting-1.png)](https://spyglass.org/meta-operation-kick-puppies/) Meta buying a major book publisher to get data for its AI -- is one idea! [Skydance Nears Summit of ParamountDavid Ellison Closes In on Hollywood Prize: Paramount GlobalDavid Ellison, movie producer, tennis fanatic and heir to a technology fortune, is on the verge of adding another title: media mogul.BloombergLucas Shaw I’ll admit that I was very skeptical of David Ellison in Hollywood for all the obvious “nepo baby”![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/af/ca/afcaa655-46e2-45b8-889a-2881de5cce69/content/images/size/w256h256/2024/01/Spyglass-Rings---Multi.png)SpyglassM.G. Siegler![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/af/ca/afcaa655-46e2-45b8-889a-2881de5cce69/content/images/2024/04/Paramount-logo-with-man-1.png)](https://spyglass.org/skydance-paramount/) Legal battle notwithstanding, Skydance taking over Paramount could be compelling... [‘Snow’ Show No MoreGame Of Thrones Jon Snow Spinoff Series No Longer In Development At HBO The Game of Thrones Jon Snow spinoff series is no longer in active development at HBO, Kit Harington confirms in an interview. Screen Rant Adam Bentz We will continue to know nothing... more about Jon Snow, it![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/af/ca/afcaa655-46e2-45b8-889a-2881de5cce69/content/images/size/w256h256/2024/01/Spyglass-Rings---Multi.png)SpyglassM.G. Siegler![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/af/ca/afcaa655-46e2-45b8-889a-2881de5cce69/content/images/2024/04/Jon-Snow-Old-Man-Wall-1.png)](https://spyglass.org/remake-game-of-thrones-please/) Let's give the Jon Snow standalone show room to breathe -- and remake GoT season 8... [IMAX’s Big PictureFilm Fans Keep Splurging on Blockbusters in Imax, So Why Hasn’t Wall Street Gotten on Board?How Imax has quickly become the goldstandard in theatrical experiences.VarietyBrent Lang It’s easy to overthink it. With all the concerns about the future of cinemas – as in the actual buildings where you![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/af/ca/afcaa655-46e2-45b8-889a-2881de5cce69/content/images/size/w256h256/2024/01/Spyglass-Rings---Multi.png)SpyglassM.G. Siegler![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/af/ca/afcaa655-46e2-45b8-889a-2881de5cce69/content/images/2024/04/Imax-Illustration-Cinemacon-1.webp)](https://spyglass.org/imax/) IMAX isn't getting the type of "future of cinema" love it should be... --- ### Quoteable... > "The whole A.G.I. rhetoric is about creating God. I don’t believe in God. I’m a strong atheist. So I don’t believe in A.G.I." \-- **Arthur Mensch**, CEO of Mistral, the AI startup [seemingly carrying the weight of all of Europe on its back](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/12/business/artificial-intelligence-mistral-france-europe.html?ref=spyglass.org). Well, that's [one definition](https://spyglass.org/agi-definition/) – or [non-definition](https://spyglass.org/agi-is-here-and-will-never-be-here/)... --- ### Some Thoughts On... 🤖 [**Apple's search for the "next big thing" starts anew**](https://spyglass.org/apple-odds-ends-leading-up-to-ai-day/) **🍪** [**Microsoft seems to be feeling confident in new ARM chips...**](https://spyglass.org/microsoft-windows-ai-surface/) 🎞️ [**Francis Ford Coppola's *Megalopolis***](https://spyglass.org/megaflopolis/) 🦦 [**Apple's "Ferret" tech could be key to its AI aspirations**](https://spyglass.org/apple-ferret-ai/) 🗣️ [**Alexa is about to shift, will developers be along for the ride?**](https://spyglass.org/hey-alexa/) 📌 [**David Pierce's evisceration of Humane's AI pin...**](https://spyglass.org/humane-ai-pin-brutal-review/) --- ### Quickly... - Long rumored, now confirmed: *The Night Manager* [is coming back](https://variety.com/2024/tv/global/tom-hiddleston-the-night-manager-return-two-seasons-bbc-prime-video-1235967820/?ref=spyglass.org) – for two new seasons, no less! I can't believe it has been *6 years* since the John le Carré story was made into a miniseries. Tom Hiddleston will return, of course. - Also coming back? *Heroes* – [for a second time](https://deadline.com/2024/04/heroes-reboot-series-tim-kring-1235880431/?ref=spyglass.org). - Huey Lewis can no longer listen to nor play music due to Ménière’s disease, which is tragic. But he's learning to live with it, and [has a new musical](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/10/theater/huey-lewis-heart-of-rock-and-roll-broadway.html?ref=spyglass.org) celebrating his catalog. - Showtime will officially [shut down this month](https://variety.com/2024/digital/news/showtime-streaming-apps-shutting-down-1235968145/?ref=spyglass.org) – [I still don't understand](https://mgs.blog/paramount-unveils-paramount-with-showtime-ad838c993cc?ref=spyglass.org) why 'Paramount' isn't the company while 'Showtime' is the streaming service. It's such a perfect name. Then again, ['HBO' is now 'Max' so](https://x.com/AlsikkanTV/status/1778471644635308491?ref=spyglass.org)... Maybe [Skydance can fix this](https://spyglass.org/skydance-paramount/)? - Though the fact that four board directors at Paramount [just stepped down](https://www.wsj.com/business/media/three-paramount-directors-to-step-down-as-company-discusses-skydance-merger-68c509e4?ref=spyglass.org) at once ahead of a Skydance deal perhaps doesn't speak too well of its prospects for sailing through... - Peter Higgs, the namesake of the literally fundamental Higgs boson, [passed away this week at age 94](https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/apr/09/peter-higgs-physicist-who-discovered-higgs-boson-dies-aged-94?ref=spyglass.org). The day he won the Nobel prize he found out from someone on the street as he was coming home from a quiet lunch of soup and trout. - Ferries [are so back](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/08/business/ferry-real-estate-development.html?ref=spyglass.org)! Official order of preferred commute travel: 1) Ferry 2) Train 3) Subway 4) Bike 5) Walk 6) Car 7) Bus. No comments at this time. - It's truly wild how badly the MLB [has messed up the new jersey](https://theathletic.com/5388778/2024/04/04/mlb-nike-uniform-changes-sweat-stains/?ref=spyglass.org) (not the state, the actual *new jerseys*) situation – of course, they're fully passing the buck to Nike, who is passing it to Fanatics, who is passing it back to Nike... Everyone just looks sweaty all the time! - Remember when people [thought it was crazy](https://twitter.com/PessimistsArc/status/1775153178020889084?ref=spyglass.org) that Facebook bought Instagram for $1B? [It's probably approaching](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-05/instagram-generated-almost-30-of-meta-s-revenue-in-early-2022?ref=spyglass.org) *$50B in revenue a year now*. And roughly 30% of Meta's entire business. [No one is laughing anymore](https://parislemon.com/post/20833947117/one-burbn-one-scotch-one-beer?ref=spyglass.org)... It's a [bigger business than YouTube](https://www.businessinsider.com/instagram-ads-revenue-youtube-court-documents-2024-4?ref=spyglass.org)! - VC "dry powder" has nowhere to go [says the *FT*](https://www.ft.com/content/b7cd9329-c3fd-4408-8807-ce9c2939da6c?ref=spyglass.org), due to the IPO window remaining largely shut and the M&A window almost completely shut due to regulation. And valuations still in the midst of being reset in private markets because of capital conservation practices. Good thing for AI... 🫧🫧🫧 - Kobo's first color e-readers [look great](https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/10/24124411/kobo-libra-colour-clara-colour-e-reader-kindle-e-ink?ref=spyglass.org) – [where on Earth is Amazon](https://500ish.com/plateau-kindle-before-peak-kindle-96f8948bd880?ref=spyglass.org)?! - One place they're not is in the robot vacuum business, which [remains](https://spyglass.org/pro-football-pro-parenting-vision-pro/) silly and ["sad" per Andy Jassy](https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/11/amazon-ceo-jassy-spurns-regulators-after-failed-irobot-deal.html?ref=spyglass.org). - As [dire as things may be](https://spyglass.org/megaflopolis/) for Francis Ford Coppola's *Megalopolis*, he can still [command a Cannes festival slot](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/11/movies/cannes-film-festival-lineup.html?ref=spyglass.org), because he's won the Palme d’Or *twice*. - Spotify is going to start letting people [remix popular music](https://www.wsj.com/business/media/spotify-to-let-users-play-dj-competing-with-remixes-on-tiktok-da35e25c?ref=spyglass.org), allowing for things like speeding up tracks. Which sounds awful, [quite literally](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7x2kOT9uf4g&ref=spyglass.org). TikTok [continues](https://spyglass.org/tag/tiktok/) to ruin everything. Get off my lawn. - The Nolan brothers [almost went with The Riddler](https://variety.com/2024/film/news/the-dark-knight-rises-jonathan-nolan-riddler-villain-1235966838/?ref=spyglass.org) instead of Bane as the main villain in The Dark Knight Rises... - ESPN strikes [a nine year deal](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/espn-peyton-manning-omaha-productions-new-deal-manningcast-1235871374/?ref=spyglass.org) with Peyton Manning's Omaha Productions for the *'Manningcast'* and various other projects – who wants to be [a broadcaster](https://mgs.blog/tony-romos-broadcasting-style-led-to-an-intervention-9c7d6d9ec591?ref=spyglass.org) when you can *own your own broadcast*? - Code found in some iOS builds suggest one of the AI features [to come](https://spyglass.org/wwdc24-apple-ai/) at WWDC [will be a 'Safari Browsing Assistant'](https://www.macrumors.com/2024/04/10/ios-18-safari-browsing-assistant-rumor/?ref=spyglass.org)... What that means isn't entirely clear, but it could be [something like this](https://spyglass.org/wwdc24-apple-ai/)... - Other things hopefully coming at WWDC: an update to [the ridiculous 5GB entry tier](https://daringfireball.net/2024/04/online%5Fphoto%5Fstorage%5Fis%5Fsurely%5Fexpensive%5Fbut%5Fapple%5Fshould%5Foffer%5Fmore?ref=spyglass.org) for iCloud storage. It's 2024\. - And [hopefully](https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/5/24122341/apple-app-store-game-emulators-super-apps?ref=spyglass.org) some fun retro game emulators! - Noe Valley's (where I lived for many years in San Francisco) million-dollar toilet is getting [a "blowout" event](https://sfist.com/2024/04/11/noe-valley-to-celebrate-arrival-of-once-controversial-public-toilet-with-blowout-event/?ref=spyglass.org) for its unveiling next week - My preferred way to mark the passing of O.J. Simpson is through [old Norm Macdonald footage](https://twitter.com/davenewworld%5F2/status/1778435191536525451?ref=spyglass.org), but [his *NYT* obit](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/11/sports/oj-simpson-dead.html?ref=spyglass.org) is well worth the read for the various moments in time he was tied up in that were historic, mainly in awful ways, of course, but events so [many of us lived through, in real time](https://www.threads.net/@mgsiegler/post/C5oj97TLfQM?ref=spyglass.org). - The Onion also with the nail in the... [O.J. Simpson Allowed To Remain Living After Coffin Doesn’t Fit](https://www.theonion.com/o-j-simpson-allowed-to-remain-living-after-coffin-does-1851403804?ref=spyglass.org) --- ### One Last Thing... [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/af/ca/afcaa655-46e2-45b8-889a-2881de5cce69/content/images/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-12-at-5.59.04-PM.png)](https://www.threads.net/@lowrobb/post/C5SqpWlOky3?ref=spyglass.org) [No notes.](https://www.threads.net/@lowrobb/post/C5SqpWlOky3?ref=spyglass.org)