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

At CES 2025, Swiss tech startup Natura Umana is the latest to dive into the rapidly growing trend of minimalist tech designed to free us from our ever-increasing reliance on smartphones.

Following in the footsteps of devices like the Rabbit R1 and the Humane Pin, Natura’s Humanpods promise to deliver a sleek, hands-free experience powered by a personalized AI assistant. The goal? To redefine how we interact with technology and, hopefully, reduce the dopamine-driven doom scrolls that come with constant phone use.

Thanks to the previous products mentioned, it’s easy to be cynical about Humanpods. We got a chance to test out the Humanpods, and based on our initial experience, Natura Umana might have the juice.

Humanpods run on Natura’s NatureOS, a companion app for iOS and Android that bridges the voice-controlled earbuds and the AI assistant. Through the app, users can engage with “AI People” designed to simulate human-like interactions. Currently, the Humanpods offer three AI …