9to5Google Log Out: How the Humane combadge is better and worse than a smartwatch

Abner Li | Apr 25 2023 - 1:30 pm PT

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After seeing the Humane demo last week, it has reaffirmed my belief that the combadge-like device is better thought of as a smartwatch competitor than a smartphone replacement.

The most interesting part of Humane’s upcoming combadge-like wearable is not the laser projection system – that’s the biggest limitation actually – but the fact that it has a world-facing camera.

A lens that’s always ready to identify the world is powerful and a prerequisite of both augmented reality and next-generation assistants. I argue that you’d use Google Lens-like tools more often if you didn’t first have to turn on and unlock your phone, open the viewfinder, point at the subject, and snap. This workflow is too cumbersome and not very memorable.

In the case of Humane, it’s a one-tap activation and should be even faster as you can append the voice command/query alongside the capture.

The breast pocket may even be a better location for a camera than glasses, as it allows for sensors and lenses that aren’t physically constrained by how much can fit on your face. The combadge form factor also allows for an appreciably bigger battery that, again, does not have to fit on the stems of your glasses.

Beyond AR, world-facing cameras are useful for taking pictures. I’m in the minority, but I’m horrible at remembering to take photos of things and think that smart glasses or combadges will help me to do so, especially if it can be configured as a one-tap action.

However, there will be a lot of social stigma to having a visible camera lens on your body at all times. It will take some time for this to become acceptable, and if the functionality you get by braving it and wearing a camera at all times is not high enough, I think people will just carry on with their beloved phones. Prominent indicator lights will do a lot to mitigate this, while people are very much used to accidentally being in-frame whenever they’re in public, given the ubiquity of phones.

On the laser screen

I don’t think Humane’s laser projection system can replace an LCD/OLED/etc. in the near term. It won’t show enough information.

That’s why I still think Humane is best thought of as a smartwatch in terms of functionality. While the AR capability definitely gives Humane a huge leg up, the way information is presented is too novel and limiting. The palm of your hand, like the screen of a smartwatch, is not a big enough surface to be productive like you can be with a full QWERTY keyboard on a phone.

One of the demos involved getting a “Catch me up” summary of your inbox. Most people would then want to take action, be it replying or getting all the details. Both Humane and smartwatches let you reply by voice, but that’s not always enough. Meanwhile, for the latter action, projecting to a wall (when you’re outside) or a desk (when you’re inside) seems like a privacy concern compared to how you can somewhat discretely hold a smartphone at an angle. Additionally, keeping your hand in place for the projector seems inconvenient, at least with the current field of view.

Where smartwatches have the advantage is the familiarity of the form factor, given the analog equivalent, and the rich heart rate data they can record. In many ways, wearing an always-on sensor is seemingly inevitable for the future of healthcare.

More than today’s smartphone or smartwatch, Humane’s success will heavily depend on the quality of its fundamental input methods. Voice recognition is still imperfect, and it’ll be interesting to see if Humane will offer anything novel. Meanwhile, its screen tech is wholly new and untested in terms of both accuracy and whether people want to use it.