RABBIT R1

PRODDING AWAY AT LITTLE ICONS ON A SCREEN IS STARTING TO LOOK OLD-FASHIONED

- Tom Wiggins

Pah, that looks nothing like a rabbit. Its ears are all square.

Remember the name, though, because the people behind the R1 have got big plans for this little orange box. You see, for the past 15 years the way we've used our smartphones has revolved around apps... but in a world of increasingly clever Al, prodding away at little icons on a screen whenever you want to play a song or book a cab is starting to look ever so slightly old-fashioned. So the R1 doesn't run apps itself-its built-in Albot uses them for you.

So it's just Alexa in a gaudy box?

That's not actually too far off. The R1 has two mics on the top, so you just have to hold the button on the side and ask it to do something, with the response relayed to you via its speaker and 2.88in touchscreen. There's also a E rotating 8MP camera, but that's designed more for visual searches than snapping pics of your dinner. Underneath that is an analogue scroll wheel- and if the general design vibe looks familiar, that's probably because those Teenage Engineering scamps had a hand in how it looks and works.

Is it going to replace my phone?