CES 2025: Humanpods earbuds are Samantha from ‘Her’ but less dystopian

At CES 2025Swiss tech startup Human nature it’s the latest development to dive into the fast-growing minimalist tech trend designed to free us from our ever-increasing dependence on smartphones.

Following in the footsteps of devices such as Rabbit R1 And Humane iconNatura’s Humanpods promise to provide a hands-free experience with a personalized AI assistant. Target? To redefine how we interact with technology and hopefully reduce the amount of dopamine-fueled event scrolling that comes with constant phone use.

Thanks to the previous products mentioned, it’s easy to be cynical about Humanpods. We’ve had the opportunity to try out the Humanpods, and based on our initial experience, the Natura Umana may be a good fit.

Humanpods run on Natura’s NatureOS, a companion app for iOS and Android that combines voice-activated headphones with an artificial intelligence assistant. Through the app, users can interact with “AI humans” designed to simulate human interaction. Humanpods currently offer three AI personalities: Athena, a fitness trainer; Hector, therapist; and Nature, the universal helper. According to Natura, each AI has its own personality, and during our demo we even had the ability to have the AIs interact with each other or seamlessly switch between them at our request.

Users can also use other large language models such as ChatGPT, Claude A.I.And Twins without having to open any other application.

Humanpods are designed with all-day comfort in mind. Natura founder Carlo Edoardo Ferraris said the goal is for users to “put it on in the morning and forget it’s there.”

Thanks to Natura’s patented “Gravity Hooks”, the headphones fit snugly and comfortably, although their durability remains to be seen.

Sound quality was impressive during our demo, even in the noisy Caesars Palace convention center. While the AI ​​handled commands well in a hands-free setting, there were occasional delays and confusion when multiple voices interacted within range of the headphones.

What we’ve seen so far is impressive, but using multiple AIs designed to get to know you personally naturally raises privacy concerns. According to the company, it claims that all sensitive information is stored locally and with the user’s explicit permission.

The Humanpods don’t have a confirmed release date yet, but Ferrari has expressed confidence that they will hit the market sometime in the first quarter of this year. As for pricing, the company is aiming to keep them affordable, targeting a range around $100, which is comparable to the lower prices of Apple AirPods.

If you’d like to try them, you can join the Natura Umana waitlist on their website.

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