Generative AI’s hype has yet to lead to a must-have gadget for the holiday season
Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses
Meta
Shoppers looking for gadgets and gizmos powered by generative AI technology to gift to their loved ones won’t have many options to choose from this holiday season.
Generative artificial intelligence has taken Silicon Valley by storm since the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot in November 2022. Although startups have raised billions to build new GenAI tools and tech giants have bought millions of Nvidia processors to train AI models, few companies have delivered new hardware built with the new-age tech as its focal point.
There was a lot of optimism over the potential of GenAI gadgets at the CES trade show in January, said Paul Gagnon, vice president for analyst firm Circana. In particular, products from high-profile startups such as Humane and Rabbit, which were marketed as being able to translate, answer questions, take voice memos and set alarms, were drawing buzz, Gagnon said.
But many of these new GenAI devices didn’t work as well as people expected, with reviewers saying that the gadgets were too slow and too prone to failure.
“As we’ve gone through the year, and those kinds of promises — which I’ll be honest, were pretty nebulous to start with — there’s been a bit of a struggle with communicating that to consumers,” Gagnon said.
A key reason GenAI hardware hasn’t had a breakthrough is that current devices are “compute restrained,” meaning they require more powerful silicon chips and related components to perform better, particularly when compared with smartphones, said Ben Bajarin, CEO of Creative Strategies, a market research firm.
Additionally, consumers may find current GenAI devices too expensive, and they may be confused about what the devices can actually do, he said.
GenAI devices, such as the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, also typically require a smartphone connection for an accompanying app as well as strong internet access, because a bad internet connection can lead to performance delays that frustrate people, Bajarin said.
While companies such as Microsoft, Apple, Intel, Dell and Lenovo have also heavily marketed new lineups of personal computers capable of performing GenAI tasks, consumers have yet to perk up to the sales pitch, said Ryan Reith, an IDC program vice president for mobile devices.
“I don’t think that there’s actually a need for consumers to go out and get one of these more expensive PCs,” Reith said, noting that people may be confused about why they need beefier computers when they can already access tools such as ChatGPT through their current PCs.
The reality is that while GenAI has captivated Silicon Valley, it’s still “inning zero” in regard to widespread adoption, Bajarin said.
“Even though I can rattle off all these productivity stats of how people are using AI today, it’s a very small number of people,” he said. “This is not mainstream.”
It may not be until 2025 that consumers see a “big explosion” in GenAI computers, smartphones and new gadgets, said Steve Koenig, vice president of research at the Consumer Technology Association, which produces CES.
Despite Silicon Valley not having a breakout year for GenAI hardware, here are a few GenAI devices early adopters can buy.
Ray-Ban Meta glasses
Meta released the second generation of its Ray-Ban smart glasses in 2023, but the company began rolling out GenAI features for the device earlier this year and announced several new AI capabilities at its Connect event in September.
The glasses don’t offer users augmented reality capabilities, but people can use the device to take photos, listen to music and ask the Meta AI digital assistant for information about the things within their field of view.
With the help of the device’s mics and camera, for instance, users can ask the Meta AI digital assistant to recommend a recipe when they walk through a grocery aisle and scan the shelves, the company said in a blog post.
Meta, which makes Facebook and Instagram, is selling certain versions of the glasses for 20% off through Dec. 2. This means that a pair of the Ray-Ban Meta Skyler style of glasses will cost $239.20 instead of $299 if bought online.
Rabbit r1
The Rabbit r1 is a $200 gizmo that looks like an orange, miniaturized tablet with a playful aesthetic that’s more Nintendo Switch than Apple iPad.
Outfitted with a camera and dual mics, the r1 can record audio clips and set timers or perform more advanced tasks, such as helping users recall details from past conversations, search results and voice recordings. After the device began shipping in March, reviewers criticized the r1 for stumbling at various tasks and failing to outshine smartphones that can do many of the same functions.
The startup “has used that feedback to rapidly make very significant improvements to the user experience” and has released scores of updates to improve, Rabbit CEO Jesse Lyu told CNBC in a statement.
Despite the harsh reviews, Rabbit has “sold more than 100,000 r1 devices when we originally expected to sell only 3,000” and the company is “seeing a return rate of less than 5%, which is very solid for a first-generation product,” Lyu said.
Rabbit is currently running a deal that gives shoppers free shipping, or $15 off, if they order an r1 by Dec. 4.
Bee
After raising $7 million in funding in July, the startup Bee AI will begin selling its GenAI device, the Bee, on Friday.
The Bee looks like an internet-connected smartwatch and functions like an advanced digital assistant. Its dual mics allow it to listen and analyze people’s voice memos and conversations to provide summaries and to-do lists, Bee AI CEO Maria de Lourdes Zollo told CNBC.
The Bee can also be integrated with health-care tools and people’s Google and Gmail accounts to help generate personalized summaries and action items, Zollo said. Although the startup offers a Bee app for the Apple Watch for people who don’t want to buy another hardware device, she said the core Bee device is better at understanding voices in loud environments.
Shoppers can buy the Bee for $49.99 and get its basic tasks, but they will have to pay a $15-per-month subscription for more features such as “better memory or better capabilities,” Zollo said.
For Black Friday, Bee is offering shoppers three free months of the device’s subscription service. The device should ship in time for Christmas, Zollo said.
Watch: Former Apple designers launch $700 Humane AI Pin as smartphone replacement.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, is seen through glass during an event on the sidelines of the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris, Feb. 11, 2025.
Aurelien Morissard | Via Reuters
Elon Musk tried to derail a major artificial intelligence infrastructure deal in the Middle East after learning that his startup, xAI, would be excluded from the initiative, CNBC has confirmed.
Earlier this month, OpenAI, Oracle, Nvidia, Cisco and Emirati firm G42 announced plans to build a sweeping Stargate AI campus in the United Arab Emirates. Musk was frustrated that OpenAI, led by personal rival Sam Altman, was tapped for the deal, and he intervened in an effort to get xAI involved, said a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named in order to speak freely.
Musk argued that President Donald Trump would not approve the deal, the person said. The announcement was delayed by several days as stakeholders, including the White House, dealt with blowback from Musk, who has been engaged in a public and legal spat with Altman and OpenAI.
The Wall Street Journal first reported that Musk attempted to block the deal.
In a statement to CNBC, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt didn’t mention the dustup.
“The United States and the UAE signed a groundbreaking framework agreement establishing the first AI acceleration partnership,” Leavitt said. “The framework advances the buildout of AI infrastructure in the United States and the UAE. This was another great deal for the American people, thanks to President Trump and his exceptional team.”
Musk wasn’t in the UAE when the deal was signed, but was with the president in Saudi Arabia during an earlier part of the Middle East trip, according to a senior White House official. The official said Musk has relayed his concerns about the government fairly treating all AI companies.
OpenAI declined to comment. Musk didn’t respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Musk, who is also CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, is a complicating character in Trump’s effort to solidify U.S. leadership in AI. Musk spent close to $300 million to send President Trump back to the White House, and has since been leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), slashing the size of the federal workforce. His time as a special government employee is coming to an end this month.
When it comes to AI, Musk has in recent years been a vocal critic of Altman, a former friend and colleague. The pair helped form OpenAI as a research lab in 2015, but Musk later had a public break with the project and has consistently criticized its structure and close alliance with Microsoft.
While xAI has been building its commercial efforts, acquiring Musk’s social media company X in March and this week partnering with Telegram to roll out its Grok chatbot, Musk has been trying to thwart OpenAI’s effort to convert into a for-profit entity.
Musk has sued OpenAI for breach of contract and to try and stop the conversion, and a Musk-led investor group made an unsuccessful bid to buy control of the startup for $97.4 billion in February.
It’s also not the first time Musk has been critical of Stargate.
In January, Trump unveiled the Stargate project, with OpenAI, Oracle and Softbank committing an initial $100 billion, and up to $500 billion, of investment in AI infrastructure in the U.S. over four years. Musk was quick to cast doubt on the financing behind the project.
“They don’t actually have the money,” Musk wrote in response to an OpenAI post on his social platform X. He later added that SoftBank had “well under” $10 billion secured.
Two months later, SoftBank led a $40 billion investment in OpenAI at a $300 billion valuation.
— CNBC’s Eamon Javers contributed to this report.
WATCH: Elon Musk tried to block Sam Altman’s big AI deal in the UAE
A Dell Technologies sign is seen in Round Rock, Texas, on June 2, 2023.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
Shares of Dell Technologies rose on Thursday in extended trading after the company raised its full-year earnings forecast and issued a stronger-than-expected forecast for the current quarter.
However, Dell’s adjusted earnings per share came up short versus LSEG estimates on in-line revenue.
Here’s how the computer maker did versus LSEG consensus estimates:
- Earnings per share: $1.55 adjusted vs. $1.69 estimated
- Revenue: $23.38 billion vs. $23.14 billion estimated
Dell said it expects $2.25 in adjusted earnings per share for the current quarter, with between $28.5 billion and $29.5 billion in revenue. That was significantly higher than LSEG expectations.
Company officials attributed the strong guidance to $7 billion in artificial intelligence systems that are expected to ship during the quarter, which are higher-margin than other Dell systems.
For the full year, Dell still expects about $103 billion in revenue, in line with LSEG expectations, but it raised its forecast for full-year adjusted earnings to $9.40, which was a 10 cent increase from the company’s prior outlook.
Dell is one of Nvidia’s primary vendors that builds systems around the chipmaker’s AI graphics processing units. Dell said on Thursday that it was seeing “unprecedented demand” for AI systems, especially for second-tier cloud providers, such as Coreweave.
Texas-based Dell said that it has $14.4 billion in confirmed orders for AI systems in its backlog that will ship in the coming quarters. It recorded $12.1 billion in confirmed AI orders during the first quarter, the company said. These numbers will turn into recorded revenue when Dell ships the system to its clients. In February, Dell said it expected $15 billion in AI server sales during its fiscal 2026, up from $10 billion last year.
Overall, Dell’s revenue grew 5% on an annual basis. It said it expects revenue to grow 8% during the fiscal year.
Dell’s server business is reported as part of its Infrastructure Solutions Group, which had $10.3 billion in sales during the quarter, a 12% rise. Of that, $6.3 billion was sales for servers and networking, and $4 billion was for computers that store data.
The company’s laptop and PC business, its Client Solutions Group, recorded $12.5 billion in sales as the global PC market is expected to recover this year after several slumping years.
The computer maker also said it significantly stepped up its shareholder capital return during the quarter, spending $2.4 billion on share repurchases and dividends during the period. It spent $2.58 billion on share repurchases for all of its fiscal 2025, which ended in January.
Technology
Musk’s SpaceX town in Texas warns residents they may lose right to ‘continue using’ their property
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway