Last year, former Apple designer Imran Chaudhri and former Apple software executive Bethany Bongiorno launched one of the first smart wearables under their Humane brand. The $699 Humane AI badge was not well received, with many critics criticizing its poor performance.
Humane continues to fight and today returns exceed sales. The edgeThe number of AI pins returned has exceeded that of pins purchased between May and August. The number of pins returned is so high that only about 7,000 units remain in the hands of consumers, of which about 10,000 were originally shipped.
The company has only sold $9 million worth of AI Pins in total, and it’s trying to handle $1 million in returns. Humane can’t recondition returned AI Pins due to a technical limitation with cellular connectivity, and the returned units are simply e-waste at this point.
Humane also encountered an issue with the device’s charging case, which was found to pose a fire hazard. Humane sent emails to customers asking them to stop using the charging case accessory. No refunds were issued, but customers were given two free months of Humane’s service.
Humane raised more than $200 million from investors and had planned to sell about 100,000 pins in its first year, but poor performance appears to have sunk the device. The edge claims that family members and friends who reviewed the product before its launch expressed concerns about the AI Pin’s functionality, but it was launched despite the feedback.
A Humane spokesperson said The edge There were “inaccuracies” in the financial data obtained by the site, but details were not provided. Humane said the company remained “committed to ushering in a new era of ambient and contextual computing” and that software updates had been made in response to user feedback.
