Tech company Humane has urged owners of its AI Pin to stop using the device’s charging case immediately. Citing a potentially hazardous defect with a third-party battery cell, the company’s message came through an email to customers.
The gadget is a wearable, voice-controlled device that has a digital assistant designed to substitute a smartphone for several standard apps. Despite its innovative concept, it has been widely regarded as one of the least favourably reviewed tech products since its November launch.
Although the $149 charge case is technically an accessory, it plays an important role in the package as it allows for on-the-go charging for the AI Pin, which is a mobile device by nature.
The warning followed an incident involving a single report of a charging issue. “Upon receiving a single report of a charging issue while using a third-party USB-C cable and third-party power source, we identified a quality issue with the battery cell supplied by a third-party vendor used in your Charge Case Accessory,” the Humane team disclosed in the email.
The issue, which has been traced back to the third-party battery supplier, has forced the company to disqualify the vendor from their supply chain. “Our investigation determined that the battery supplier was no longer meeting our quality standards and that there is a potential that certain battery cells supplied by this vendor may pose a fire safety risk,” the company explained.
The consumer electronics company told its customers that the problem is confined to specific battery cells in the Charge Case Accessory and is not due to the hardware design itself. They also stated that other products like the Ai Pin itself, the Battery Boosters, and the Charge Pad remain unaffected and safe for continued use, as these do not incorporate components from the disqualified supplier.
Consequently, Humane has extended an additional two months free of their subscription service. “While we know this may cause an inconvenience to you, customer safety is our priority at Humane. We design Ai Pin and related accessories with safety top of mind, and rigorously test and certify them to applicable US and international safety standards,” Humane stated.
Humane said it promised to keep them updated as their investigation progresses. “Rest assured we are committed to your safety and satisfaction and will share additional information when we have concluded our investigation,” the email from the company said.
