Avi Schiffmann's AI wearable, Friend, has been updated with a voice feature and a distinct personality, aiming to combat loneliness. The new version, Friend 2.0, is priced at $249, a significant increase from its original $99 launch price.
The relaunch of Friend with enhanced features and a higher price point reflects ongoing attempts to find a market for AI-powered personal devices, despite previous failures in the sector. Its unique marketing and positioning as a confidant, rather than an assistant, highlight a niche strategy in the competitive consumer tech landscape.
Two years after its initial launch, Avi Schiffmann's AI wearable, Friend, has been significantly upgraded with a voice feature and a distinct personality, aiming to serve as a companion to combat loneliness. The new iteration, dubbed Friend 2.0, now includes a built-in speaker capable of projecting a unique and consistent persona to its user. Commercials showcase the device offering advice and compliments, such as telling a user "It’s not bad to be gay" and complimenting a filmmaker's work.
The enhanced Friend wearable comes with a new retail price of $249, a substantial increase from its original $99 launch price. Schiffmann has described the product's purpose as offering "some kind of confidant, friend, God," clarifying that it is not intended to be an assistant or a lover. This marketing approach, which suggests a quasi-deity relationship with the device, follows previous bold campaigns, including subway billboards that were frequently defaced.
The broader market for AI wearables has faced challenges, with many products failing to gain mainstream traction. A notable example is Humane Inc., which ceased operations less than a year after launching its AI Pin, a device intended to replace the iPhone.