The newest AI hardware gimmick is a $99 wearable pendant that is “always listening” and will “talk” to you about whatever you happen to be doing. It’s called Friend, and it’s the product of Avi Schiffmann, a techno-wunderkind who has spun up some impressive (albeit, occasionally controversial) projects in the past. Schiffmann announced the launch of Friend on Tuesday, publishing a video to X to showcase the virtual companion’s apparent capabilities. Friend doesn’t actually talk to you. Instead, it texts you, sending little quips to your phone in response to things you might say or do.
introducing friend. not imaginary.
order now at https://t.co/7kGiH5pQVK pic.twitter.com/qU58xNvX5v
— Avi (@AviSchiffmann) July 30, 2024
Friend is currently only available for pre-order, and The Verge reports that the first batch of pendants may not actually ship until next January. Hilariously, it was once conceptualized by Schiffmann as a “wearable mom,” which doesn’t have quite the same user-friendly ring to it. “Friend” was probably a better branding choice. The device was also previously called “Tab.”
Despite the well-produced advertisement released Tuesday, there is little in the way of helpful user information on the product’s website, Friend.com. The site’s “blog” amounts to one post, published today, that explains Schiffmann’s vision for the automated pendant.
The blog, penned by Schiffmann, states:
Friend is an expression of how lonely I’ve felt.
I want to thank all the incredible artists and engineers who have helped me bring this work to life over the past year. You have truly given me a deeper appreciation for the art I see in everyday objects.
We can’t wait to hear how friend fits into your life. Thanks for checking us out.
A FAQ page provides limited insights into the product, but specifies that the pendant pairs with a user’s smartphone via bluetooth and collects information on the user’s daily activities via sound recording. The site states: “When connected via bluetooth, your friend is always listening and forming their own internal thoughts.” Through this data collection, the “friend” can then develop “thoughts” about your activities, which it then shares with you via automated text messages.
Presumably the data recorded by the device is stored locally, though there isn’t anything on the site that specifically attests to that. The site’s privacy policy includes vague language around data collection: “The personal information that we collect depends on the context of your interactions with us and the Services, the choices you make, and the products and features you use,” it says. Further down, the policy also claims it doesn’t collect any “sensitive information,” but fails to explain just what qualifies as “sensitive.” Gizmodo reached out to the company for further answers and we’ll update this post when we receive a response.
Friend is the latest novelty brought to us by the AI hardware market, a subsection of the broader AI industry that has had a pretty rough go of it so far. First there was Humane, which tried to sell us the “AI pin,” a talking wearable meant to replace the smartphone. The product has since been dubbed a “disaster” and its executives are already looking to sell the company. Then there was the Rabbit R1, which, despite strong initial buzz, has since been dubbed a “half-baked” experiment that doesn’t work as advertised.
It makes a certain amount of sense that, after these previous businesses failed to deliver on lofty promises, Friend might try to keep expectations low. Still, the product can’t help but seem grift-y. It’s hard to imagine what the multi-year business plan for Friend is, since it offers so little in the way of actual services.
Similarly, since the device’s main association seems to be—as Schiffmann has put it—loneliness, and it acts a replacement for actual human connection, wearing such a device would seem to signal to others that you’re a bit of a loser. Unlike a “friend” or “romance” chatbot, which you can enjoy from the privacy of your own home, wearing the “loner amulet” around your neck in public may be slightly less appealing to its introverted user base.
If anything, the device seems destined to work commercially as a short-term cash-grab fueled by Gen-Z irony purchases: “Look, dude, I got you a Friend—since you desperately need one, haha.” It may be at this level of commerce that Friend finds its footing, if at all.
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