Humane’s Ai Pin launch
After months of teasers, Humane has launched the Ai Pin. It is positioned as the next generation of wearable with the goal of replacing the smartphone. Equipped with a camera and a mini-projector (to shine messages onto the palm of your hand), the device costs $699 and has a monthly cellular fee of $24. We have just published a blog covering the Ai Pin in more detail, but to sum up, we believe that the device is unlikely to succeed in its current form and certainly will not convince more than a handful of people to give up on their smartphones.
The Circana Take:
- But what is intriguing about the device – and why it is worth talking about it at all frankly – is the underlying AI-based intelligent agent. That agent, combined with a connected smartwatch, would provide a much more compelling solution that would replace the smartphone – at least some of the time.
Slackers of the world rejoice
We’ve had it drilled into us since the beginning of wearables… 10,000 steps should be our everyday goal if we want to stay fit and healthy. But we always knew the number was based less on science and more on marketing. After all, when did science ever come up with a nice round number (9,972.8 would be a more believable “science” answer)? A study published recently in the journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (not the most uplifting read) showed that participants who walked 7,000 steps a day had a 50% to 70% lower risk of mortality. Further, the study found that there wasn’t much more benefit when the step count was increased to 10,000.
The Circana Take:
- Apparently, the origin story for the 10,000 steps goal comes from a Japanese step counting device from the 1960s, the “Manpo-kei” which roughly translates to 10,000 steps meter.
- While steps are still considered the base calculation for all of our wearables health tracking, it’s not really that effective a measurement. Yes, for someone just starting on a fitness path, it’s a good measure, but once other forms of exercise are added, such as weights, cycling, elliptical machines, or good old-fashioned running, then the true measurement should relate more to exertion rather than simple steps.