Humane has announced that its beleaguered Ai Pin will be discontinued following the startup’s $116 million acquisition by HP.
The wearable, released less than a year ago in April 2024, has become one of the industry’s most dunked-on devices since Google Glass. High-profile reviewers declared the chest-mounted, AI-powered mini projector dead on arrival. We were also skeptical after testing the Pin at MWC last February.
Come February 28, it will be buried.
According to the startup, almost all features will be disabled after then, including calling, messaging, AI queries and responses, or cloud access.
Humane is also encouraging users (of which there could still be many, considering around 10,000 were reportedly sold by August) to download pictures, videos and notes stored on the AI Pin before they’re permanently deleted later this month.
If you’re looking for a refund, you may also be out of luck. Humane also notes it will only honor refunds for Pin purchases “within the 90-day return window from their original shipment date”, and only if claims are made by 27 February.
The brand’s support document also covers a few more refunding technicalities, including advice for subscribers who paid for subscriptions after the discontinuation date and those who had been waiting for a replacement charging case.
Humane’s platform: What happens now?
While the Pin will be sent to the wearables graveyard, Humane’s CosmOS platform will live on thanks to HP. As part of the deal, it will acquire the software, more than 300 patents, and technical team, with the founders—formerly of Apple—set to lead a new AI division within the company.
According to Bloomberg, this new team will help integrate Humane’s artificial intelligence into HP’s personal computers, printers, and connected conference rooms. HP says this branch will be called ‘HP IQ’.
