Rabbit R1 starts shipping to first batch of US buyers next week

The bright orange Rabbit R1 is arguably one of the most memorable devices to debut this year, and if you’re one of the lucky few who was able to place an order before the first batch sold out, yours will be soon on the way. for you. According to Rabbit, the first batch of US pre-orders will ship on March 31 (Easter Sunday). However, it will take a few weeks for the devices to arrive at their destination. The company estimates that the first R1 orders will be in customers’ hands “around April 24.”

Rabbit is also hosting a pickup party in New York on April 23 that it says is open to all buyers, not just the first batch. He plans to release more information about the party and the first deliveries next week.

The company’s Rabbit R1 demo, conducted alongside CES, generated a lot of hype and a lot more questions about the purpose of dedicated AI hardware in the smartphone era. It positions itself as a more useful AI assistant that can go with you anywhere, powered largely by the LLM from San Francisco startup Perplexity. Co-designed by Teenage Engineering, the Rabbit R1 features a physical scroll wheel and rotating camera, as well as an adorable animated rabbit that serves as its mascot.

The company began taking pre-orders for the $199 Rabbit R1 in January, and the first batches of 10,000 devices each sold out quickly. Although the first batch will start shipping soon, buyers who arrive later will still have to wait several months for theirs to arrive. Pre-orders are currently open for the seventh batch.