Rabbit drops rabbitOS 2 with card layout and voice-coded mini apps

Remember the Rabbit r1, the hyped orange pocket gadget that got slammed at launch for feeling half-baked? After months of criticism, Rabbit is finally admitting that the initial software fell short, and it is rolling out an overhaul to fix it.

Rabbit has announced rabbitOS 2, a major operating system update for the r1 AI companion device. The update redesigns the entire user interface into a colorful, card-based layout and expands its capabilities to turn the handheld into an on-the-fly software creator.

Swiping cards and generating apps on the fly

The redesigned interface revolves entirely around cards. Each primary tool or feature lives on its own card, allowing users to browse their device either by swiping the touchscreen or spinning the physical scroll wheel.

Rabbit is also delivering several quality-of-life updates that users have been asking for. Conversations with the device now display live on the screen, blending voice, text, and photos. The company’s intern AI agent now runs locally on a dedicated card with image generation support. Meeting recordings are stored locally on the gadget, meaning offline audio playback and AI summaries work without an internet connection, and exporting files from the rabbithole hub has been simplified.

The headliner of the update is creations, an expansion into what Rabbit calls vibe coding. Users can describe a utility, a simple game, or a specific workflow in plain speech. Within minutes, the AI agent builds the interface and software directly on the device. Users can create tools from scratch or download them from a shared directory on Rabbit's website.

Rabbit CEO Jesse Lyu acknowledged that there was a big gap between high user expectations and the original product experience. According to Lyu, rabbitOS 2, combined with creations and more than 30 OTA updates over the past 16 months, effectively makes the r1 a completely new machine. To push adoption, the company is offering free global shipping on new orders through the end of September.

Why it matters

For existing r1 owners who shoved the orange box into a drawer, rabbitOS 2 is genuinely worth pulling out to try. Offline meeting transcriptions give it a real, practical everyday use case, and vibe coding through voice makes tinkering with mini-apps approachable for anyone. If you do not already own one, however, we think there is little reason to rush out and buy hardware just for this update unless you want an eccentric AI development toy.

Strategically, Rabbit’s pivot looks very clever. The original r1 stumbled hard because its Large Action Model promised to navigate third-party apps like Uber or DoorDash, an approach plagued by broken web scripts and API walls. By pivoting toward vibe coding and creations, Rabbit takes the pressure off itself to maintain brittle web agents. Instead, it lets users prompt custom mini-tools into existence.

The lingering question is whether novelty can sustain a dedicated gadget. We think building cute games or quick calculators with your voice is impressive for five minutes, but unless these generated tools solve recurring, painful friction points that a smartphone cannot handle, the r1 still risks slipping back into drawer-duty once the vibe wears off.