An APK review suggests Rabbit's R1 runs Android, and its entire UI is powered by a single Android app; founder Jesse Lyu says “rabbit r1 is not an Android app”

The Rabbit R1 is probably running Android and is certainly powered by an Android app under the hood. — • — TL;DR

Android Authority 2024-05-01 Mishaal Rahman

Context & Ripple Effects

Rabbit positioned the R1 as an alternative to making a phone or an app, while early hands-on coverage found its Rabbithole companion experience unfinished. A subsequent review also cast the device as part of a broader push to sell unfinished AI products with promised improvements.

The APK findings matter because they test whether the R1's differentiation is primarily new hardware and interaction design or a software layer delivered through a familiar mobile platform. Rabbit later demonstrated a generalist Android agent, making the Android relationship central to how its product direction is understood.

First-order effects

The analysis puts Rabbit's “not an Android app” characterization under immediate scrutiny: the reported implementation suggests the R1 interface may depend on a single Android application even if Rabbit distinguishes the product at another architectural level.
Buyers and reviewers gain a concrete basis for evaluating whether the R1's software experience delivers enough beyond an app-based assistant to justify dedicated hardware.

Second-order effects

The report raises the evidentiary bar for AI-device makers that market a standalone experience while relying on established mobile operating systems; product claims will be compared more closely with implementation details.
For Rabbit, criticism of unfinished software can become harder to separate from questions about product positioning, increasing pressure to demonstrate capabilities that are distinct from a conventional Android app.

Third-order effects

If dedicated AI devices commonly ship as thin software layers atop Android, competition may shift away from custom operating systems and toward agent reliability, integrations, and the hardware interface around them.
The category's durable dividing line may become whether an agent can complete cross-app tasks better than a phone, rather than whether its underlying software technically runs on Android.

The trend: AI hardware is converging on Android-based agent layers, forcing vendors to prove that dedicated devices offer more than a repackaged mobile app.

Discussion

@marek_hajn Marek Hajn on threads
And just like that, Rabbit R1 is revealed to be another scam. They could have launched just an Android app, but that would never have given them such hype and so many preorders. So, they produced a useless piece of hardware that no one asked for and that no one is going to use …
@parkerortolani Parker Ortolani on threads
need to get a launcher on it stat
@wongmjane Jane Manchun Wong on threads
Run Tamagotchi on it!
@wilander@mastodon.social Wilander on mastodon
Turns out Rabbit 1 is just an app running on Android. — Makes me think of Juicero - a $400 machine that squeezed readymade juice out of a pouch. — https://www.androidauthority.com/ ...
@stroughtonsmith … Steve Troughton-Smith on mastodon
You'd be surprised how many devices are just an Android (or Linux) app in a box
@film_girl@mastodon.social Christina Warren on mastodon
This is fantastic. If you've got the Rabbit apk launcher plz share with me christina at christina dot is. This is hilarious. https://www.androidauthority.com/ ...
@rabbit_hmi @rabbit_hmi on x
we are aware there are some unofficial rabbit OS app/website emulators out there. we understand the passion that people have to get a taste of our AI and LAM instead of waiting for their r1 to arrive. that being said, to clear any misunderstanding and set the record straight,...
@mishaalrahman Mishaal Rahman on x
rabbit sent me a statement: “rabbit r1 is not an Android app. We are aware there are some unofficial rabbit OS app/website emulators out there. We understand the passion that people have to get a taste of our AI and LAM instead of waiting for their r1 to arrive. That being sai…
@mishaalrahman Mishaal Rahman on x
FWIW: Someone else has already been able to run regular Android apps on their R1. https://www.youtube.com/... So make of that what you will.
@david1lz @david1lz on x
@MishaalRahman Release the apk 😈
@thejoshmeister Josh Long on x
@MishaalRahman It's best to expose this early. R1 was recently criticized for gaslighting users about how it knew their approximate location for the weather report. “Oh, I just picked a totally random location because it's a popular random place.” Yeah, sure you did. 😝 https://tw…
@issaminuu Issam on x
@MishaalRahman Anyone who thought this couldn't just have been an app is ridiculous. https://twitter.com/...
@edzitron Ed Zitron on x
oh so it turns out that the R1 is literally an android app! https://www.androidauthority.com/ ...
@didier_lopes Didier Lopes on x
@MishaalRahman [image]
@asciidiego Diego on x
@proofofbeef @Gedmark it is an app https://www.androidauthority.com/ ... but no shade here, i have no context for what they're doing — besides, the cto seems p smart!!
@chroman Christian Roman on x
@rabbit_hmi “a local bootleg APK without the proper OS and Cloud endpoints won't be able to access our service” Translation: A pull request has been submitted/merged to block network calls by filtering request headers on the backend. 🤣
@james76931 James on x
@MishaalRahman “Why didn't you just make a smartphone?” “well... I mean...”
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x
So they made custom hardware to run an Android app instead of just shipping an Android app? 🤦🏾‍♂️ [image]
@myamaha62randy @myamaha62randy on x
@MishaalRahman Android is based off of Linux and Apple is based off of Unix. So what's your point?
@gartenberg Michael Gartenberg on x
Now that we know the R1 is essentially an Android device with an app at the core, how long before someone just makes this an app in the App Store for iOS and Android? Bonus if you make an Apple Watch app as well that's voice controlled. Surely some of you are smart enough to...
@mishaalrahman Mishaal Rahman on x
I think my IP or device ID got blocked, lol. My Pixel 6a is now “unable to connect to rabbit OS”, so I can't send any more queries. My rabbithole account is still active, though, which is amusing because the website shows that I have an R1 (I don't). [image]
@marceld505 Marcel on x
@MishaalRahman I accomplished this too, pretty funny. Vision crashes and notes don't seem to save to rabbithole. With the new update that just came out, i think they are checking IMEI numbers to verify that it can access the online service. But i would need to somehow get the upd…
@thekitze @thekitze on x
yooooooo 💀 💀 [image]
@mishaalrahman Mishaal Rahman on x
A few things to clear up: 1) I'm not actually surprised this runs Android; in fact I was fairly sure of it before (but didn't have definitive proof). It makes sense for startups to use AOSP as a base, especially when they need to focus on developing the software for the product..…
@bowtiedanon_ @bowtiedanon_ on x
@MishaalRahman Whwhhahahwhhahajaja Guys open source won.
@ali243s Ali on x
@MishaalRahman The most useless tech product That literally does nothing helpful
@_danilo Danilo on x
Easily the most cost-effective approach to do what they're doing: wrapping a bunch of OpenAI API calls in a voice interface The challenge over the long term is that it's just as rational for the guys who already build handsets to do the exact same thing
@itsgauravai Gaurav Jain on x
Why? “Why aren't these companies simply releasing an app instead of hardware that costs hundreds of dollars, requires a separate mobile data plan to be useful, and has terrible battery life?” Source : https://www.androidauthority.com/ ... [video]
@film_girl Christina Warren on x
This is fantastic. If you've got the Rabbit apk launcher plz share with me christina at christina dot is. This is hilarious. https://www.androidauthority.com/ ...
@laughing_mantis Greg Linares on x
Omfg If you're gonna make a piece of expensive hardware and hide that it's just an android app, please hire a product security team to help prevent your product from being dumped in less than a week. Product security is as important as innovation.
@mishaalrahman Mishaal Rahman on x
Surprise, surprise! The Rabbit R1 runs Android under-the-hood, and its entire interface is powered by an Android app. I managed to get that app up and running on a Pixel 6a. More details👇 https://www.androidauthority.com/ ...
@geeksplainer Jose Mdz on x
@MishaalRahman If it works, it works. Android or whatever else. I'm not a particular fan of the R1, but being able to understand how it's currently composed doesn't make you any special or particular critic. Owning the hardware gives them the possibility to pivot that any day.
@jakeweidman1 Jake Weidman on x
This is pretty wild if true - the Rabbit R1 really is just an android app... https://www.androidauthority.com/ ...
@grandiopanda @grandiopanda on x
“Rabbit R1, a wannabe gadget that's just an overpriced Android app 💸🤖 Why waste money on redundant hardware when an app can do the job better? #TechFail #RabbitR1 #AndroidApp” https://www.androidauthority.com/ ...
@edzitron Ed Zitron on x
i have become obsessed with how bad the Rabbit R1 is. The Doordash demo they did in front of a crowd for the launch was so unbelievably broken, didn't work on the first try and then took forever on the second. The Large Action Model is a CON! https://www.youtube.com/... [video]
@chaoticvibing @chaoticvibing on x
https://www.androidauthority.com/ ... lol. lmao even. OF COURSE it was android under the hood. i was already willing to bet this was a deep sleep issue but now i'm 99% sure about it. lmfao
@dpuiger Daniel Puig Gerarde on x
@MishaalRahman I said it from the beginning. That use case can be covered by an App. Obviously having hardware brings more hype.
@realraylin Ray Lin on x
@MishaalRahman can't charge $199 for an app tho
@timocodes Timo on x
@MishaalRahman And Jesse is a former NFT Salesman.. this product is just a refundable gimmick even their old website is rerouted to rabbit .tech
@mask_bastard @mask_bastard on x
@MishaalRahman I think everyone knew that it was just another android device, but they wanted it to be magic powered by ancient scripture, non dairy powdered coffee mate, and good vibes.
@pcphilanthropy PC Philanthropy on x
@MishaalRahman “The Rabbit R1, for example, does almost nothing that your Android phone can't do.”
@jetscott Scott Stein on x
These early AI gadgets feel like precursors, like the first wearables well before smartwatches normalized. Phones need to develop more advanced hook-ins for all sorts of peripherals and their services...they're the hubs. Still not here yet, but for AI/XR it's going to need to be
@liama002 @liama002 on x
@MishaalRahman Does it support touch? Bc the real R1 only allows it in terminal mode
@datboitom Tom Chen on x
@MishaalRahman This is v1 bro, give them a break
@itsandrewgao Andrew Gao on x
Why are people mad that Rabbit is using Android OS? Feels overkill to build an entire os from scratch.
@camcamkennedy Cameron Kennedy on x
@MishaalRahman Any chance you can get it running on a Motorola RAZR? Ironically the front screen is the perfect size
@anthony_17_s @anthony_17_s on x
@MishaalRahman Yeah that's probably the only way they are able to get integration with third party apps I figured
r/OpenAI r on reddit
Turns out the Rabbit R1 was just an Android app all along
r/technology r on reddit
Turns out the Rabbit R1 was just an Android app all along
r/Android r on reddit
Rabbit R1, a thing that should just be an app, actually is just an Android app
r/gadgets r on reddit
Rabbit R1, a thing that should just be an app, actually is just an Android app

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