--- title: Tony Fadell on why the first wave of AI gadgets failed —... description: Tony Fadell, creator of the iPod and Nest, argues that the first generation of AI gadgets — Rabbit R1, Humane AI Pin, and Limitless pendant — failed because... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/tony-fadell-on-why-the-first-wave-of-ai-gadgets-failed-and-what-comes-next-vpjsbpocd twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Tony Fadell on why the first wave of AI gadgets failed — and what comes next | daily.dev og:description: Tony Fadell, creator of the iPod and Nest, argues that the first generation of AI gadgets — Rabbit R1, Humane AI Pin, and Limitless pendant — failed because... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/tony-fadell-on-why-the-first-wave-of-ai-gadgets-failed-and-what-comes-next-vpjsbpocd og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/VPjSbPoCd.png og:image:alt: Tony Fadell on why the first wave of AI gadgets failed — and what comes next og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Tony Fadell on why the first wave of AI gadgets failed — and what comes next **[TechCrunch](https://daily.dev/sources/tc)** · 5 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Tony Fadell, creator of the iPod and Nest, argues that the first generation of AI gadgets — Rabbit R1, Humane AI Pin, and Limitless pendant — failed because they solved no real problem and offered interesting tech rather than genuine utility. He contends most consumers have never had a human assistant and don't know how to use or trust one, making trust the central barrier for AI agents. He points to Meta's Muse launch, which shipped with a serious security vulnerability discovered right after release, as evidence of the stakes. Fadell believes Apple is best positioned to build a trusted AI agent due to its hardware, chips, and privacy reputation, even though it lacks a world-class proprietary AI model and relies on a custom Gemini-based Siri. He predicts future AI agents will need to run on-device rather than depend on data centers, and suggests companies like Meta and OpenAI are building standalone gadgets specifically to access phone sensor data they otherwise couldn't get. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### Why did AI gadgets like the Rabbit R1 and Humane AI Pin fail? They failed to solve a real problem and functioned as novel technology rather than useful tools. Tony Fadell, creator of the iPod and Nest, says these 'Gen 1' AI products didn't meet an actual need and most consumers have no reference point for what a personal assistant even does, since under 0.01% of people have ever had one. _Anyone evaluating the next wave of AI gadgets can follow the trust and hardware debate on daily.dev._ ### What security vulnerability was found in Meta's Muse AI assistant? A security researcher discovered a serious vulnerability in Meta's Muse shortly after its launch, and a report indicated Meta employees had scrambled in a 'mad dash' to fix security issues immediately before release. The incident is cited as evidence that trust and safety remain unresolved challenges for AI agents handling sensitive personal data. _Developers weighing AI assistant security risks can track incidents like this on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Apple’s new chief executive built up to unveiling the ideal AI device, then said it was the iPhone.](https://daily.dev/posts/apple-s-new-chief-executive-built-up-to-unveiling-the-ideal-ai-device-then-said-it-was-the-iphone--wetpgwxx2) · The Next Web · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [OpenAI bets big on audio as Silicon Valley declares war on screens](https://daily.dev/posts/openai-bets-big-on-audio-as-silicon-valley-declares-war-on-screens-15auuxka6) · TechCrunch · 1 upvotes · 1 comments - [Jony Ive and Sam Altman say they finally have an AI hardware prototype](https://daily.dev/posts/jony-ive-and-sam-altman-say-they-finally-have-an-ai-hardware-prototype-xzbfquxta) · The Verge · 3 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#ai-agents](https://daily.dev/tags/ai-agents), [#apple](https://daily.dev/tags/apple), [#gpu](https://daily.dev/tags/gpu), [#local-ai](https://daily.dev/tags/local-ai) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/tony-fadell-on-why-the-first-wave-of-ai-gadgets-failed-and-what-comes-next-vpjsbpocd) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Tony Fadell on why the first wave of AI gadgets failed — and what comes next","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/tony-fadell-on-why-the-first-wave-of-ai-gadgets-failed-and-what-comes-next-vpjsbpocd","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/tony-fadell-on-why-the-first-wave-of-ai-gadgets-failed-and-what-comes-next-vpjsbpocd"},"datePublished":"2026-10-07T14:44:24.926Z","dateModified":"2026-10-07T15:04:56.890Z","description":"Tony Fadell, creator of the iPod and Nest, argues that the first generation of AI gadgets — Rabbit R1, Humane AI Pin, and Limitless pendant — failed because...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/2f408204be6422683177b0adb630ad4b?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/2f408204be6422683177b0adb630ad4b?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"TechCrunch","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TechCrunch","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/tc","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/tc"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/tony-fadell-on-why-the-first-wave-of-ai-gadgets-failed-and-what-comes-next-vpjsbpocd","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"ai-agents,apple,gpu,local-ai","timeRequired":"PT5M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"TechCrunch","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/tc"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Tony Fadell on why the first wave of AI gadgets failed — and what comes next"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/tony-fadell-on-why-the-first-wave-of-ai-gadgets-failed-and-what-comes-next-vpjsbpocd#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Why did AI gadgets like the Rabbit R1 and Humane AI Pin fail?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"They failed to solve a real problem and functioned as novel technology rather than useful tools. 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