"Try talking to the shirt." This was the proposal from Humane, which launched the $700 AI Pin in 2024. However, the product disappeared from the market just a year later. In February 2025, after being acquired by HP, all services were discontinued. Customer support was also discontinued, and even then, only buyers could receive a refund within 90 days. Humane wasn't alone. The fluorescent orange AI device, Rabbit R1, initially received 100,000 pre-orders, but within months of its release, only 5,000 people had used it. The $129 Friend necklace, an "AI friend" that listened to your conversations and sent you encouraging messages, was ultimately dismissed as nothing more than a Bluetooth microphone. Why did all this AI hardware fail? And amidst all this failure, why did OpenAI bet a whopping $6.5 billion on iPhone designer Jony Ive? AI devices that fail the 'everyday test' Google co-founder Larry Page has a special criterion: the "Toothbrush Test ." It's simple: "Will the product be used at least once or twice a day, like a toothbrush?" When considering a potential acquisition, Larry Page asks this question before considering financial statements. He wants to see if the product improves people's lives and is essential enough to be used daily. Search, email, messaging, social media—almost every successful digital product we use every day passes this toothbrush test. They're the things we naturally reach for when we wake up in the morning. So what about AI hardware? The Humane AI Pin cost $700 plus a monthly subscription fee of $24, but it was slow, had no screen, and only sold a few thousand units. Wearing the pin on your shirt and watching the screen project onto your palm was an awkward experience in itself. "In a world where smartphones already do almost everything, it's hard to justify a $700 device that whispers in your ear." The crux of the problem was clear: these devices were captivated by "technical possibilities," but failed to address "user problems." There was no reason to use it every day. The iPhone wasn't successful because of its beautiful design. It was because it packed everything we needed every day—phone calls, music, internet, photos, maps—into a single device. It passed the toothbrush test perfectly. AI can't replace smartphones. Jony Ive candidly admitted in an interview with The New York Times, "I bear a lot of responsibility for the impact the iPhone has had on users' attention spans and anxiety." He wanted to create a new device beyond the iPhone. But the reality is stark. Even Sam Altman told Bloomberg, "Our first product won't kill the smartphone, just as the smartphone didn't kill the laptop." Why? People don't throw away their smartphones. The reason is simple: It's visual — screens are still the most efficient way to convey information. It's intuitive — touch is often faster and more accurate than voice. It's already part of our habits — we already check our smartphones dozens of times a day. For AI hardware to succeed, it must integrate, not replace, smartphones. AI shouldn't be introduced as a new device, but rather embedded within the smartphones we already use every day. The $6.5 Billion Challenge — OpenAI × Jony Ive In May 2025, OpenAI acquired Jony Ive's startup io for approximately $6.5 billion, the largest acquisition in OpenAI's history. Jony Ive and his team of 55—most of whom were former Apple designers who created the iPhone, iPod, and Apple Watch—joined OpenAI.
