See, it turns out that the Rabbit R1 seems to run Android under the hood and the entire interface users interact with is powered by a single Android app. A tipster shared the Rabbit R1’s launcher APK with us, and with a bit of tinkering, we managed to install it on an Android phone, specifically a Pixel 6a.

Edit: Someone also got doom and Minecraft running on this thing

  • @chrash0@lemmy.world
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    3511 months ago

    what else would it be? it’s a pretty common embedded target. dev kits from Qualcomm come with Android and use the Android bootloader and debug protocols at the very least.

    nobody is out here running a plain Linux kernel and maintaining a UI stack while AOSP exists. would be a foolish waste of time for companies like Rabbit to use anything else imo.

    to say it’s “just an Android device” is both true and a mischaracterization. it’s likely got a lot in common with a smartphone, but they’ve made modifications and aren’t supporting app stores or sideloading. doesn’t mean you can’t do it, just don’t be surprised when it doesn’t work 1-1

    • Quantum CogOP
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      3211 months ago

      You are missing the point. The point is that there is no need for such a device, a simple android app can do everything that rabbit r1 does.

      • @erwan@lemmy.ml
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        1911 months ago

        Yeah, but everyone could see that as soon as they released it.

        It doesn’t matter how it’s implemented, it could have been done as an app from day one.

        But they made it a device instead because it makes it easy to raise funds and to get journalists to talk about it. As simple as that.

      • @chrash0@lemmy.world
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        711 months ago

        i didn’t think people would really be surprised. but maybe i’m jaded by my experience in the industry.

        if we’re arguing whether or not it’s objectively stupid, i think that’s up to the market to decide.

        kinda seems like a toy to me anyway, and it’s kind of priced that way

    • @utopiah@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      nobody is out here running a plain Linux kernel and maintaining a UI stack while AOSP exists.

      Wrong, that’s even why I bought a SteamDeck (edited to add the most famous), PineTab2, PinePhone, and a reMarkable and use them pretty much daily.

      Are there a lot of these compared to Android? No, but please do not say “nobody” when you mean “most” or “the vast majority” because by doing so you are reducing the perception of choice. Some people, like me, DO prefer plain Linux when they can. By hiding the fact that commercial solutions do exist this is helping an already dominant solution.

    • Cosmo
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      11 months ago

      It’ll be cool when the concept of “Large Action Model” works well. But def not worth it to tie your money to a single horse this early; a lot of people want that concept to work well, so I’m sure there’s a lot of work being done in that area. Rn I agree that it’s just a worse ChatGPT.

    • @jg1i@lemmy.world
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      -1011 months ago

      We know it’s just ChatGPT (and Perplexity). That’s why we bought it. It’s just a fun frontend for a chat bot. That’s like the main point.

        • @jg1i@lemmy.world
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          -611 months ago

          Lol. “Why are you all happy?! Stop having fun!” I bought it and I’m satisfied with it. If you don’t see the appeal, that’s ok. Just don’t buy it.

  • @nomadjoanne@lemmy.world
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    1311 months ago

    Yeah in the presentation of it was clearly idiotic. I often wonder how seriously these silicon valley people actually take themselves privately.

  • Cosmo
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    1911 months ago

    Haha can’t run R1 on an iPhone. Take that Apple. Absolute gamechanger.

    • Ghostalmedia
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      1111 months ago

      Challenge accepted. I’m going to get an IPhone, load up an Android cloud emulator, upload the Rabbit R1 app, then use it to access its orange version of ChatGPT.

  • @lobut@lemmy.ca
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    7911 months ago

    R1s statement in response from the article:

    “rabbit r1 is not an Android app. We are aware there are some unofficial rabbit OS app/website emulators out there. We understand the passion that people have to get a taste of our AI and LAM instead of waiting for their r1 to arrive. That being said, to clear any misunderstanding and set the record straight, rabbit OS and LAM run on the cloud with very bespoke AOSP and lower level firmware modifications, therefore a local bootleg APK without the proper OS and Cloud endpoints won’t be able to access our service. rabbit OS is customized for r1 and we do not support third-party clients. Using a bootlegged APK or webclient carries significant risks; malicious actors are known to publish bootlegged apps that steal your data. For this reason, we recommend that users avoid these bootlegged rabbit OS apps.”

    So there’s literally no reason for this to have been a device at all.

    • @theherk@lemmy.world
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      211 months ago

      Except that some people may like this form factor for these features. Of course it can be delivered in phones, but it does seem at least possible to me that some may prefer a device like this.

      • @jkrtn@lemmy.ml
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        311 months ago

        I love the dumb little form factors those guys do. The only thing stopping me is that I know it is overhyped bullshit which I will be bored of in a week. If it were easy to develop my own software to completely replace what’s on it I might be convinced.

        • @theherk@lemmy.world
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          211 months ago

          I completely agree. If they take another swing, I hope they’ll make it much more open for development. Or just update these.

      • @lobut@lemmy.ca
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        111 months ago

        They’re possibly complimentary but not mutually exclusive. I think if they sold the form factor of the device over the phone that that would have been more honest marketing.

    • @bcgm3@lemmy.world
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      511 months ago

      No rea$on at all, except for that one little rea$on that we alway$ $eem to keep coming back to…

  • @tomjuggler@lemmy.world
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    1211 months ago

    As a former Android developer, you can’t just do anything in an android app on a modern smartphone. The system is fighting you for resources the whole time. It makes sense to have something like this running as root on a device that you control.

    Not that I’m sold on it, just saying…

  • @ZILtoid1991@lemmy.world
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    911 months ago

    Note that this is mostly due to the closed source drivers and nonexistent Linux support for smaller SoCs. Some manufacturers are quite good in that front (e.g. Broadcom/Raspberry Pi, Rockchip), with others you’re lucky if they allow you to use Linux at all, with no GPU drivers (which you often have to pirate the binaries, thanks ARM for making Mali a completely closed source project from its open source origins).

    • @macaroni1556@lemmy.ca
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      11 months ago

      Broadcom is actually terrible, the Rpi foundation just had an in.

      NXP deserves some credit for good board support packages and documentation.

    • Quantum CogOP
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      311 months ago

      Broadcom is also closed source (I think). I have to use closed source drivers for my broadcom wireless adapter on Linux.

  • @lorkano@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    Rabbit is paying for processing those Ai requests. If everyone starts to download it to their android devices they will literally go bankrupt

  • @fubarx@lemmy.ml
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    611 months ago

    Big whoop. MediaTek eval kits offer either Linux or Android AOSP. Why is this news?

  • @PhAzE@lemmy.ca
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    111 months ago

    These products male no sense on the age of smart phones. They will end up just being an app we download or free features of our phones at some point.

  • @notannpc@lemmy.world
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    211 months ago

    I never really understood who these products were for. I can’t help but think the only end result is a small number of people getting rich off of VC money and some misguidedly optimistic folks getting ripped off by buying these devices.