In the biggest tech event, the Consumer Electronics Show brought numerous AI innovations in front of the world. At the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, San Francisco-based startup Based Hardware introduced its latest AI-powered wearable, Omni.
Designed to enhance productivity, Omi functions as both a stylish necklace and a discreet brain interface device, activated with the command “Hey Omni”.
introducing omi. thought to action.
order now at https://t.co/5nauWCTeRP pic.twitter.com/wXThQdVUNn
— Nik Shevchenko (@kodjima33) January 8, 2025
The brain interface innovation allows Omi to recognize when a user is addressing it without needing a wake word, an impressive feature displayed by Based Hardware’s founder, Nik Shevchenko.
Creator Showcases Features of Omi
During the interview, the founder also showed Omi’s ability to respond to questions through mental focus, a capability that could redefine hands-free interactions.
Omi’s journey began on Kickstarter, where Shevchenko initially marketed it as a “Friend”. However, after another San Francisco entrepreneur launched a similar device and acquired the “Friend” domain for $1.8 million, Shevchenko rebranded his product as Omi.
Unlike previous AI wearables such as Rabbit and Ray-Ban Metas, which failed to live up to expectations. The device strives to complement smartphones rather than replace them.
Priced at $89 for consumers and $70 for developers, the device is slated to ship in Q2 2025. Based Hardware touts Omi’s ability to answer queries, summarize conversations, create to-do lists, and manage schedules using its built-in GPT-4o model.
Omi runs on an open-source platform and users can control data storage. As of now, developers have already created over 250 apps for Omi’s ecosystem.
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