Rabbit’s Cyberdeck is a contemporary tackle a netbook

Whenever you consider an AI-forward PC, you may consider one thing like NVIDIA’s $3,999 DGX Spark — a pc with sufficient computing energy to run advanced massive language fashions regionally. That is not what Rabbit is attempting to construct with Undertaking Cyberdeck. As an alternative, the corporate’s aim is to supply a tool tailor-made for vibe coding, and Engadget was given an unique first take a look at the upcoming PC.

Rabbit started engaged on Undertaking Cyberdeck after the corporate’s CEO, Jesse Lyu, noticed how a lot his software program engineers have been utilizing Claude Code. Lyu thought a small type issue PC, just like the netbooks that have been common within the late aughts, with a command line interface can be ultimate for on-the-go vibe coding, however when he went on-line to search for one thing that match the invoice, he was disenchanted.

“All of them include shitty rubber dome keyboards,” Lyu says of low-cost PCs like the newest Chromebooks, which use versatile silicone sheets beneath their keys to avoid wasting on house and price. “They don’t seem to be one thing you’d get pleasure from typing on for an prolonged time frame.” So Rabbit determined to construct its personal gadget. For inspiration, Lyu and firm appeared to an unlikely supply: the Sony Vaio P.

Sony’s netbook was solely briefly obtainable from the beginning of 2009 to concerning the finish of 2010. On the time, the 8-inch Vaio P was the world’s lightest netbook, weighing simply 1.4 kilos, however it had a number of points. It was additionally costly, costing significantly greater than different Intel Atom notebooks of the time. In 2009, probably the most reasonably priced Vaio P would set you again $900 (about $1,365 adjusted for inflation). With Undertaking Cyberdeck, Rabbit is aiming for a tool that prices about $500, and hopefully avoids an analogous destiny.

I noticed a couple of early renders of Undertaking Cyberdeck, which Rabbit is not able to share publicly but. Think about a cross between the Rabbit R1, Vaio P and the unique Nintendo DS. It appears to be like cute. All of the renders had 4 USB-C ports to permit customers to attach the gadget to exterior displays and peripherals, although the precise IO specs are as-yet undecided.

The corporate is within the strategy of sourcing parts and dealing in direction of a remaining design, so particulars can — and can — change. I noticed among the elements Lyu has been testing in his workplace, however no remaining prototype as such.

For one, Rabbit nonetheless must resolve on a chipset. The corporate is aiming for a efficiency benchmark relative to the Raspberry Pi 5, which has a Broadcom BCM2712 quad-core Arm Cortex A76 processor clocked at 2.4GHz. With 16GB of RAM, the Raspberry Pi 5 can run two exterior displays, a functionality Rabbit hopes to match with the Cyberdeck. The concept right here is to make a tool that is highly effective sufficient it will not really feel gradual when it is speaking with Anthropic and OpenAI’s servers, however reasonably priced sufficient to make it a no brainer buy for builders.

The corporate confirmed Undertaking Cyberdeck will run Linux. Rabbit will permit customers to change the working system and set up any third-party instruments they need. Moreover, all of the software program options the corporate has developed for RabbitOS shall be obtainable by way of command-line prompts.

Two elements of the gadget Lyu hopes are main differentiating components are the keyboard and display. Lyu seems set on delivery a pc with a 40 p.c keyboard that has low-profile mechanical switches and a completely scorching swappable PCB, so customers can tweak the typing really feel to their liking. Lyu additionally had a pattern 7-inch OLED display on his desk after I spoke to him. That particular panel affords contact enter, a 165Hz refresh fee and 815 nits of brightness. Whereas it may not be the one Rabbit settles on, OLED is the aim, due to what it could imply for battery life.

For the uninitiated, OLED panels produce black values by turning off particular person diodes, and since every diode is self-emitting, there is not any want for a power-hungry backlight. Like each smartphone producer, Rabbit is benefiting from this by planning to supply a darkish mode interface from day one.

One side of the Cyberdeck’s design Lyu cannot definitively converse to is how a lot RAM it is going to characteristic. Your complete trade is coping with datacenter demand for high-bandwidth reminiscence that has despatched the worth of computers, smartphones and other electronics hovering. Lyu believes Rabbit will not be pressured to delay the Cyberdeck out of 2026, however he additionally did not rule out the chance both. If issues change for the higher, he is assured Rabbit would be capable of take benefit, because it took the corporate about 93 days to ship the primary R1 gadget after it started engaged on the design.

Individually, I’m wondering if individuals will wish to carry round a second gadget solely for his or her coding wants? You do not want a devoted machine to entry Claude Code or OpenAI Cursor. Even corporations like Apple have begun integrating vibe coding services into their development environments. Rabbit might be on monitor for a repeat of the R1, however with so many particulars of the Cyberdeck left undecided, for now, it is too early to know for certain. The corporate will get to make its case when it shares extra particulars within the coming weeks and months.