TL;DR
Earlier this week, it was revealed that the Rabbit R1, a standalone AI device receiving negative reviews, actually runs on Android. The interface on the R1 is powered by an Android app that can be used on existing Android phones. Rabbit claimed that their AI services can only be accessed on the R1, but this is not true. The R1 launched with poor reviews and was found to be essentially an Android app in a box, disappointing many consumers. We were able to get the R1 launcher running on a regular Android device without the need for system-level permissions that weren’t necessary for its core functionality. Rabbit made minimal modifications to the Android firmware provided by MediaTek and added the R1 launcher, a custom keyboard app, an OTA updater, and a custom boot animation. Our analysis contradicts Rabbit’s claim that the R1 requires special hardware. Stay tuned for our official review of the Rabbit R1.
No need for a ‘highly customized AOSP’ to transform your phone into a Rabbit R1.
