Tech fans, gadget lovers and anyone with an interest in AI innovation can rejoice: Huawei has unveiled Smart Hanhan, a new, unusual gadget. Unlike typical smart home devices or wearables, Hanhan is a fluffy “AI pet” that interacts with voice, touch and movement – and aims to create an emotional connection.
The most important facts in a nutshell
- Smart Hanhan is a small, plush AI pet that can talk to the user and react to emotions.
- It recognizes volume, voice pitch and context and reacts to touch or movement – e.g. by changing facial expressions or trembling with joy.
- The battery (1,800 mAh) allows around 6-8 hours of uninterrupted use or over 48 hours in normal use.
- Price at the China launch: 399 yuan (around 55 US dollars / ~50 euros). A launch in Europe has not yet been confirmed.
What is Huawei Smart Hanhan – and what can it do?
Smart Hanhan is no ordinary robot or gadget – it looks like a small plush toy with arms and legs, measuring around 8.2 × 8 × 6.8 cm and weighing around 140 grams. The eyes are small displays; the gadget contains a microphone, speakers and electronics, connected to a chatbot app for users of HarmonyOS 5.0 or newer. Hanhan can optionally be personalized with small accessories such as glasses or caps.
Huawei’s big innovation: Hanhan uses the internal Xiaoyi AI language model. According to the manufacturer, this enables the gadget to analyze human speech. Not only the words themselves, but also the tone of voice, mood and context of the conversation play a role. Based on this, the AI plush toy then promises to generate appropriate responses. However, the responses should not only be acoustic. When touched (e.g. head patting), the facial expressions on the eye display also change.
A gentle nudge should be able to trigger joy. According to Huawei, the gadget should be as lively and emotional as possible. There is even an integrated “mood diary”. Hanhan can use the app to save past conversations and refer to them, which should make the experience seem more personal over time. Under the hood is a 1,800 mAh battery that promises 6-8 hours of active use or 48 hours of standby time.
Conclusion
Smart Hanhan is not a typical gadget – but a bold step towards emotionally intelligent everyday technology. The small AI plush toy is compatible with smartphones running HarmonyOS 5.0 or newer. For around 50 euros, you get a soft, interactive companion that reacts, reminds you and responds to your mood. It remains to be seen whether Smart Hanhan will also be available in Europe, but the China launch has already been a complete success. For anyone who is curious about AI-supported interaction and open to new forms of gadget, Smart Hanhan could certainly be an interesting experiment.
Images: Huawei
