Humane founders Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno

The mysterious Humane firm, founded by ex-Apple executives in 2018, has shown off its first-ever product, a wearable phone that projects call details into the user's hand.

This was even more secretive than Apple. The only thing Humane, founded by former Apple director of software engineering Bethany Bongiorno and former Apple designer Imran Chaudhri, announced in five years was more funding investment.

However, Humane has reportedly today delivered a TED Talk in which it unveiled the company's first product.

I obtained a video of @Humane 's AI-powered wearable projector in action (clipped from a video @zarifali9 sent me of the #TED2023 by @imranchaudhri)

This looks insaneee! pic.twitter.com/DDOfTMCxH5

— Ray Wong (@raywongy) April 21, 2023

That video excerpt — there's no sound — from the presentation, shows what a wearer sees when they have Humane's device, and they get a call.

The actual device looks remarkably like a narrow but chunky "Star Trek" communicator badge. It's even a wearable that appears to be worn roughly over the heart.

The communicator, presumably, has a microphone and speaker at the top, but it definitely has a laser projector in the bottom.

Toronto journalist Zarif Ali, was also at the presentation and tweeted that the full TED Talk would be released on April 22, 2023.

"Been following Humane since 2018, and even with the patents and speculation, this demo genuinely felt like the ones Steve Jobs would do back in the 2000s," Zarif went on to say. "Truly a special moment in tech and AI."

Humane's Chaudhri worked with Steve Jobs at Apple, and has recounted teasing him over continually saying NeXT computers were better than the Mac.

William Gallagher

William Gallagher is a writer, editor, and Deputy Chair of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain. Outside of AppleInsider, he's best known for writing Doctor Who radio dramas for BBC/Big Finish, and for producing the 58keys YouTube channel for writers who use Macs, iPhones and iPads.