Ex-Apple engineers announce Button, an AI wearable that listens on tap

In short: Two former Apple Vision Pro engineers are taking preorders for a $179 wearable called Button, an AI helper that only listens when you press it.

What happened

Chris Nolet and Ryan Burgoyne, former Apple employees who worked on Apple’s Vision Pro headset, have introduced a small device simply called Button. It is available for preorder for $179 and is expected to ship in December.

Button is a small puck that the creators say is deliberately styled to resemble an iPod Shuffle. Inside is a generative AI chatbot, which means it can produce spoken answers on the fly, like talking to a help desk that replies in full sentences. You press the button to start it listening, then it can answer questions out loud or send audio to earbuds or smart glasses using Bluetooth (a short-range wireless connection).

The creators are positioning Button as a simpler device than earlier AI wearables that tried to replace a smartphone. Wired compares it to the Humane AI Pin, a 2024 wearable that promised a lot but drew criticism for slow replies and was later shut down.

Nolet says Button is designed around two goals, privacy and speed. It only works when you push the button, so it is not always listening in the background, like an open microphone. In a Zoom demo described by Wired, Button responded within about a second and could be interrupted by pressing the button again.

Why it matters

More companies are trying to put AI into dedicated gadgets, not just phones and computers. For everyday users, Button’s main promise is simple control, it listens only when you ask, which could make voice-based AI feel less intrusive.

Source: Wired