As promised, I’ve got a special mailbag issue this week. Thanks to everyone who sent in questions. Like last year, I picked a handful that hit some of the themes I plan to continue covering in 2025.
Technology
Answering your questions about AI, smart glasses, TikTok, and more
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24533927/STK149_AI_Writing.jpg?ssl=1 "Answering your questions about AI, smart glasses, TikTok, and more")
I’m really concerned / worried / curious about the near-term future. Between now and 10 years from now, I think it is very clear AI will be replacing many job functions. What are we all going to do?
The leaders at the AI labs say that, yes, there will be job loss, but that doesn’t mean catastrophe. The optimistic take is that humans are creative and will invent new jobs, like they always have when technology changes things. At the moment, there’s also a macro belief among the CEOs driving a lot of the spending on infrastructure for AI that its impact will be deflationary and lead to GDP growth.
Job displacement will still be painful, of course. Sam Altman and others believe that some form of universal basic income will be necessary to offset the economic impacts of AGI. Altman has his other startup, Tools for Humanity, already scanning eyeballs and distributing cryptocurrency. But I think it’s way too early to be seriously concerned. As Altman himself recently said, AGI is going to be declared soon and we probably won’t notice.
How much better is the reasoning on AI models, and is it actually something I should care about?
I know people who have tried ChatGPT’s o1 pro mode and notice a difference. But I haven’t seen anything mind-blowing from o1 or what Noam Shazeer at Google just put out, though perhaps I am a bit jaded by the last two years of AI hype. My advice would be to play with what you can access / afford and see for yourself.
The expense of running these cutting-edge “reasoning” models is currently keeping them at bay for a lot of people. I expect access to widen significantly in 2025. Knowing how to prompt these different kinds of models effectively remains a struggle, and I’d like to see more interface improvements in apps like ChatGPT to help teach people why they should use a reasoning model. An even better move would be to abstract away all these definitions and focus on what tools can do for people.
What kind of outlook do you see for Snap in 2025 and beyond?
Snap’s biggest problem going into 2025 is the same problem it had going into 2024: its business isn’t growing fast enough. The app itself is bigger than ever and growing quickly, but yearly revenue growth last quarter was less than Meta’s. That’s not a compelling pitch to Wall Street when you are already viewed as the underdog. Even with ads being placed in the Chat tab and the new Spotlight redesign slowly rolling out, the jury is out on if the business can rebound to the pace it needs to this year.
A depressed stock price makes it harder to recruit and retain talent, which has become more of a problem for Snap in the last couple of years. I do think the vibe could shift quickly if TikTok does end up being banned in the US or severely hamstrung by a new ownership structure.
I continue to be skeptical of Evan Spiegel’s commitment to hardware with Spectacles. As I’ve written before, his foresight and ambition to build AR glasses is admirable. But Snap looks increasingly outgunned in hardware.
What do you expect from Meta’s glasses in 2025?
There have been a couple of reports recently saying that Meta is planning to ship a pair of smart glasses with a heads-up display this year. I first reported this was going to happen in February 2023. Hypernova, as the product is internally referred to at Meta, will have a viewfinder for interacting with things like Meta AI and notifications.
In my write-up of the Orion prototype, I spent a lot of time on the neural wristband because it’s going to ship with Hypernova as a way to control them (while Orion’s commercial successor is still a couple years out at least). I expect this band to be the part of the glasses that surprises people the most. Using it for the first time feels like magic. As I reported in 2023, Meta is also planning a separate smartwatch as an optional upgrade with the neural capability and more features for health tracking, etc. It’s going to be a very interesting year for Meta on the hardware front.
Is TikTok going to actually be banned?
No one I’ve spoken with who is in a position to know thinks that China will let TikTok be fully divested from ByteDance. The algorithm definitely won’t be sold, but as I’ve explained before, that isn’t as important a factor as it was the last time TikTok was facing a ban.
At the same time, there is too much money and power at stake for TikTok to just disappear. President-elect Donald Trump wants to make a deal. The most likely outcome is a different version of the frankensteinian “TikTok Global” joint venture proposal that ByteDance agreed to back in 2020.
I could see Oracle staying involved this second time given Larry Ellison’s ongoing influence at Mar-a-Lago. ByteDance will most likely continue running TikTok day-to-day while divesting some of its ownership stake. The real wild card in all this, however, is Elon Musk, who has had serious TikTok envy since he bought X…
Are you more bullish or bearish on Google than you were a year ago?
Honestly, bullish. It’s going to be difficult to achieve Sundar Pichai’s 2025 mandate of making Gemini a serious rival to ChatGPT on the consumer side, but Google has a fountain of money, the technical talent, and unrivaled distribution.
The company’s challenge is more of a cultural one. The more you have, the more you have to protect. It’s hard to get such a large, sprawling conglomerate to move fast and not care about the risk of backlash. Pichai seems well aware of this and the threats he faces, though.
Even if Google has to end its Search default payments to Apple (which I predict will be the most likely outcome of the DOJ antitrust case), doing so probably hurt Apple’s bottom line more than Google’s, as Eddy Cue himself argued last week.
Then there’s Waymo, which may end up paying for all of Google’s “other bets” failures over the years — and then some.
What is a good book you recommend that falls in line with the things you report on?
A curse of already reading so much for my job is that I rarely want to spend time on a book. The last book I read in full was The Biggest Bluff by Maria Konnikova, which has nothing to do with tech but is super valuable if you are getting into poker. I enjoyed how her story of becoming a pro player is woven into explaining the technicalities of the game.
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Hot showers, like electricity, are a luxury that’s easy to take for granted. That all changes after a few nights camping at a music festival, a week toiling at a backcountry job site, or overlanding all summer in the great unknown. An itchy scalp and the vague smell of warm clams suddenly make the idea of spending hundreds on a portable shower seem less absurd.
I’ve been testing the Hottap Go from Australia-based Joolca while vanlifing to shower after surfing and to wash up after cooking. It features a 12L integrated water tank which is an improvement on other portable showers that require an external container and long, cumbersome hose that’s easy to trip over. The Hottap Go also recirculates the water until it reaches your chosen temperature. This slows things down a bit, compared to “instant” portable showers, but it doesn’t waste water since it won’t produce an initial shock of cold water that’s usually sprayed into the ground.
The $554 Hottap Go requires an external 12V power source, but in the US Joolca sells a 12V / 5A $165 power bank that attaches magnetically to the case. In Europe I had to roll my own with an €85 (about $100) power bank found on Amazon. The result is a true, fully self-contained hot water system that can be taken anywhere.
$554
The Good
- All-in-one solution for hot showers anywhere
- Water tank large enough for two showers
- All accessories and attachments store inside the unit
- No water wasted unlike competitors
- Temperature remains steady
The Bad
- Very expensive
- Battery is optional and attaches to the outside of the case
- Have to wait a few minutes to heat up
- Water pressure is just okay
To clear up any confusion right away: the Hottap Go requires electricity to power the integrated water pump and display but it heats the water with propane gas. It works with standard 1lb propane canisters out of the box, and larger tanks with a hose and regulator you must provide.
One thing I love about the Hottap Go is that the hoses, battery, showerhead, and gas canister can all be stored inside the water tank when not in use for easy portability and storage. I also like that the flow-adjustable showerhead comes with a magnetic holder. Taken together with its approach to preheating the water through recirculation, it’s clear that Joolca’s product designers have learned from the shortcomings of the current crop of portable propane showers.
To shower, you first attach the quick-release hoses for the gas and showerhead, plug the shower into a 12V power source (power bank, power station, or the cigarette plug inside your car), set your desired temperature and wait. The unit will begin heating and recirculating the water until a series of beeps indicates that the target temperature is reached. I brought tap water up to a hot 47C / 117F (per the display) in exactly four minutes, which was just enough time to gather everything I needed to shower outside my van with my modesty preserved.
On one windy day at the beach, I noticed the Hottap Go had to keep reigniting, despite its leeward venting. It failed so often that I saw an E3 error message on the display. Repositioning the shower out of the wind kept the flame lit. The handle on top makes it easy to move, and the seal around the lid ensures that water won’t slosh onto the ground or your power bank. Otherwise, the Hottap Go always lit and stayed lit without issue during my testing.
Joolca says the Hottap Go is good for two “great showers” or a single “long, luxurious one.” I was able to take two functional yet satisfying showers from its full 12L (3.2 gal) water tank, making liberal use of the on/off switch on the showerhead to conserve water while lathering.
1/11
Water flow is just okay, even at maximum setting. It’s strong enough to penetrate long, thick hair when shampooing but it’s not going to jettison grime from my mountain bike, for example. The magnetic holder is strong and the showerhead feels good in the hand with a nicely positioned on/off switch. Adjusting the flow rate dial is a two-handed operation, but mostly I just left it on max.
If you’ll only use it once or twice a year, then spending over $554 for the Hottap Go portable shower doesn’t make much sense, especially when tankless portable showers like BougeRV’s cost half that. I much prefer the Hottap Go’s recirculating water tank, performance, and overall convenience, though I do wish the optional $165 magnetic power bank was included in that price. Still, for vanlifers like me or anyone who regularly spends days away from plumbing, $719 can be easily justified for what could be the best portable hot water shower available.
- Tank: 12L (3.2 gal), ~2 showers
- Water flow rate: 1.5 – 3.5 L/min (0.4 – 0.9 gal/min)
- Shower hose: 3m (9.8 ft)
- Showerhead has an integrated magnetic mount and controls to turn off the water and adjust its flow
- Two-stage filter lets you use creek water
- Cigarette socket power cable: 5m (16.4 ft), 12V DC
- Power draw: 45W
- Max temp: 60°C (140°F), pre-heats in ~5 min
- Gas: 0.45 kg (1 lb) canister, ~15 showers
- Gas flow rate: 20MJ/hr (18,956 BTU/hr)
- Weight: 9.5 kg (20.9 lb) without water
- Size: 495 x 359 x 180 mm (19.5 x 14.1 x 7.1 in), designed to fit most jerry can holders
Photos by Thomas Ricker / The Verge
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If your clean laundry has been sitting in a basket long enough to qualify as furniture, Isaac 1 may sound like the robot you have been waiting for. Weave Robotics has introduced Isaac 1, a mobile home robot designed to handle household chores that many of us keep pushing off to tomorrow. It can pick up dirty clothes, handle loaded hampers, fold laundry and put clothes away.
It can also help with making beds, fixing pillows and blankets, plus putting everyday clutter back where it belongs. That sounds pretty amazing to me, especially if your house has kids, pets or a laundry pile that seems to regenerate overnight. However, Isaac 1 also raises a very personal question: how much access would you give a robot inside your home if it meant fewer chores?
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Weave Robotics’ Isaac 1 home robot can fold laundry, make beds and tidy rooms, but its $7,999 price tag raises questions about cost and privacy. (Weave Robotics)
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What is the Isaac 1 robot?
Isaac 1 is a wheeled mobile robot built from the ground up for the home. Weave says it designed and assembled the robot in San Francisco. The robot has a soft fabric shell, a solid internal structure and a collapsible torso. It can shrink down when it is off duty or extend up to a more human height when it needs to work.
Unlike a robot vacuum, Isaac 1 can reach for objects, move items around and interact with clutter in your home. You control it through a smartphone companion app. That app lets you request a task on demand or schedule one for later. So, Isaac 1 could work while you are home or handle a chore while you are away.
How the Isaac 1 robot folds laundry and resets rooms
Isaac 1’s main features fall into two areas. The first is Laundry Flow. Isaac 1 can find dirty clothes, pick them up, handle loaded hampers, fold clothing and put items away. Depending on your home setup, Weave says Isaac 1 may also help with related tasks, such as loading and unloading clothes from a washer or dryer.
The second area is Daily Reset. That means Isaac 1 can tidy rooms so they feel ready to use again. It can make beds, straighten pillows and blankets and return toys, shoes and other clutter to their places. For many homes, that could be a big deal. Laundry and daily pickup chores tend to drain time because they never really end.
Isaac 1 robot specs for your home
Isaac 1 has an 8-hour battery life and a listed charge time of about two hours. It connects through Wi-Fi and has a footprint of 20.5 inches by 22 inches. Its height ranges from 3 feet to 5 feet 9 inches because the torso can collapse or extend.
Weave also lists an 80-inch vertical reach and a 38-inch horizontal reach. Those specs help explain how Isaac 1 could reach beds, hampers, shelves and other parts of a normal home. It also uses a wheeled base, which Weave says makes it passively stable as it completes tasks.
At preorder, you can also choose a color preference, including Sage, Gray, Slate Blue, Terracotta or Vesper.
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Isaac 1 is designed to help with laundry, clutter and daily home resets while using cameras, Wi-Fi and possible remote assistance. (Weave Robotics)
Isaac 1 robot autonomy and privacy questions
Weave says Isaac 1 is autonomous by default for Laundry Flow and Daily Reset. However, the company also says teleoperation assistance may step in when needed to make sure tasks get completed. That detail deserves your attention because Isaac 1 works inside your home. Teleoperation means a person can help the robot remotely if it gets confused by an item, a room layout or a task. In some cases, that could make the robot more useful. It could also help prevent chores from getting stuck halfway.
Weave says privacy is core to Isaac 1’s design. The company also says the robot has physical cues that show when it is working. However, Weave’s privacy policy says its robots have video cameras and may record visual content about their surroundings. That can include tasks being performed, objects in the robot’s field of view and people nearby. The policy also says Weave’s workforce may remotely access that information in connection with the robot’s operation. That does not mean you should panic. It does mean you should read the policy before putting down a deposit.
Isaac 1 may need cameras to fold clothes and move through your home. Still, your bedroom, laundry area and living room are private spaces. You deserve clear answers about what gets recorded, who can see it and how long it is stored. Before ordering, ask whether video can be deleted, whether you can opt out of AI training uses and how you can limit where the robot operates.
Isaac 1 robot price and preorder details
Weave lists two payment options for home customers. You can pay $7,999 upfront, with an optional $99-per-month premium membership, or choose a $449-per-month subscription plan. You can also preorder Isaac 1 with a fully refundable $250 deposit. That deposit reserves your place in line and remains refundable until your robot ships.
For some, the math may come down to time. If Isaac 1 handles enough laundry and daily cleanup, the cost may feel easier to justify. For others, $449 a month may feel like too much for an early home robot.
Isaac 1 robot shipping timeline
Weave says first shipments begin in fall 2026. California deliveries come first, with broader U.S. availability expected through 2027.
After you preorder, Weave says you should receive a confirmation and thank-you email. As your delivery date gets closer, the company plans to coordinate a demo.
That demo may happen in person at a Weave location or remotely over a video call. Weave also says it will use that time to understand your top priorities for Isaac 1 inside your home.
What this means to you
If Isaac 1 works as promised, it could give you back time from chores that never seem finished. Laundry alone can take hours each week, especially in a busy household. It could also help if bending, lifting or carrying loaded hampers has become a hassle. For some homes, a robot that folds clothes and resets rooms may offer more than convenience.
However, Isaac 1 is still a connected device moving through private rooms. It uses cameras, connects to Wi-Fi and may involve remote help when needed. So before you place a deposit, think about your home layout and where you would actually feel comfortable letting it work.
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Weave Robotics says Isaac 1 can pick up dirty clothes, fold laundry and put items away after users schedule chores through an app. (Weave Robotics)
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Kurt’s key takeaways
Isaac 1 is the kind of robot that makes you stop and say, “OK, now we’re getting somewhere.” Nobody looks forward to folding laundry, making beds or picking up the same clutter again and again. These are the chores that eat up your precious time and seem never-ending. The price is the hard part. At $7,999 upfront or $449 a month, Isaac 1 has to do a lot more than look cool in a demo. It has to save you real time, work reliably and fit into your home without creating new headaches. Then there is the privacy side. Isaac 1 uses cameras, connects to Wi-Fi and may involve remote help when needed. That does not make it a dealbreaker for me, but I would want very clear answers before letting it work in private spaces like my bedroom or bathroom. I love the idea of a robot taking laundry off my hands. I am just not sure most of us are ready to pay nearly $8,000 for that privilege quite yet.
Would you let a robot see inside your home if it meant you never had to fold another load of laundry again? Let us know by writing to us at CyberGuy.com.
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