AI gadgets might not have the best track record right now, but if a new startup from some ex-Apple folks is any indication, it can still get worse.
As reported by Wired, Chris Nolet and Ryan Burgoyne, who worked on the Apple Vision Pro, are preparing to launch an AI-based wearable simply called Button in December, which is a $180, well… button that (drum roll) uses a large language model (LLM) and looks kind of like an iPod Shuffle.
The idea, as Button’s creators would pitch it, is that you press the button and talk with a chatbot. which can answer questions and “take demands,” as Wired phrases it. It has built-in speakers, apparently, but can also connect to wireless earbuds or headphones via Bluetooth if you don’t feel like blabbing to your AI pendant out loud. Not to throw shade here, but Wired’s account of Button misses lots of critical questions you might have about AI devices like this, so I’m just going to run through what we still don’t know about Button.
While Wired says “inside is a generative AI chatbot,” it’s unclear to me if that means Button is processing AI on-device, which would be a big difference compared to relying on your phone. Wired doesn’t mention which AI model(s) Button uses or whether they can be customized, and it also doesn’t cover whether Button can be used on-the-go via cellular or whether it relies on your phone for internet via Bluetooth, though I got an answer to that part myself via Button’s site. According to them, Button uses your phone’s internet via Bluetooth and will not support Android at launch—just iOS.
Another major gap is how the device is worn: it’s a pin, but it’s unclear whether it attaches magnetically like previous AI gadgets from the likes of Humane. While Button’s founders tell Wired that Button tackles one of the biggest pain points in similar gadgets—response time—it’s also unclear how exactly it delivers its alleged quick responses. That’s not even taking into account that response times are largely dependent on your connectivity at the time; the fact is, if you have bad internet, you probably have a bad chatbot. Unless it’s done on-device! Which, again… we do not know for sure.
Button only works when you push the device’s titular button, apparently, so it’s not recording all the time, though Wired doesn’t specify if it’s a push-and-hold kind of thing—I assume it’s a push-and-hold kind of thing. Oh, and one last thing not mentioned in Wired’s account: Button is selling subscriptions for “Button AI Pro,” which costs $7.99 per month, though it’s unclear which features are paywalled. I’ve reached out to Button with my questions and will update this post when I know more.
Even outside of the laundry list of open questions I have about Button, though, the whole thing just feels a little lazy. Humane’s Ai Pin largely sucked, but at least it tried something. Paying $180 for a button that just uses ChatGPT on your phone or whatever (if that’s indeed what it does) is exactly the kind of thing that most people would consider sketchy. Trust me, I’ve reviewed similar devices, and it ain’t fun. But hey… AI! Maybe simplicity will make this one feel more useful, but I get the feeling that I’m going to be smashing the “pass” button on this one.
