Tony Fadell, the engineer behind the iPod and co-creator of the iPhone, used his appearance at the inaugural MIT Future Fest to dissect why the initial wave of super intelligence (SI) hardware failed to gain traction, arguing that early devices solved no genuine consumer pain.
What Happened
Fadell displayed images of three discontinued SI gadgets—the Rabbit R1, the Humane Ai pin, and the Limitless pendant—labeling them as "Gen 1" products. He noted that while several of these companies sought his advice, he declined to help because the products lacked clear utility. "In each of these cases, each one of them didn’t meet any kind of need — it was just interesting technology for geeks," Fadell said. "And you’re like, ‘Okay, that’s neat, but it doesn’t really apply to my life.’"
The core issue, according to Fadell, is a fundamental misunderstanding of the user base. He pointed out that less than 0.01% of the global population has ever employed a human assistant, meaning the demand for SI assistants is driven by a niche group who already understand the value proposition. "Most consumers don’t even know what an assistant is," he stated. Fadell also highlighted the difficulty of establishing trust, noting that even he took years to feel comfortable granting a human assistant access to sensitive data and banking information.
Why It Matters
Fadell’s analysis suggests that the next iteration of SI agents must prioritize on-device processing over cloud dependency to succeed. He expressed skepticism about the narrative that data centers will dominate the SI landscape, stating, "I’ve seen this before. I’ve seen this play out in the internet days... We have so much power on the device now, and even more compute, and they’re still battery operated." He argued that keeping sensitive data local is essential for privacy and trust, a strategy he believes Apple has partially leveraged with features like Face ID.
However, Fadell identified a gap in Apple’s current SI strategy. While Apple controls the hardware and chips, it lacks a world-class proprietary SI model; its new Siri SI relies on custom versions of Google’s Gemini. Fadell posited that competitors like Meta and OpenAI are developing standalone gadgets to bypass the limitations of smartphone sensors and permissions. "They go and make a device with all that stuff in it without a screen... and then they just Bluetooth or Wi-Fi into your phone... so they can get all the sensor data," he explained. He contrasted the high stakes for startups, which "get one shot," with Apple’s ability to absorb failures like the Vision Pro.
The Bottom Line
For SI hardware to move beyond geek curiosity, Fadell argues it must solve a tangible problem for the average consumer while maintaining strict on-device privacy. The market currently favors companies with entrenched hardware ecosystems, though the lack of native SI models remains a hurdle for incumbents like Apple.