DEPLOY

Buying guide

Hey Pocket vs Omi in 2026

Comparing 2 humanoid robots across availability, pricing, capabilities, and verified deployments. Current as of 2026.

Key differences

  • Omi has the lower recorded price.
Attribute
No image on file
Hey PocketView full model page →
Russian FPV Drone Strikes Ukrainian Humvee-Based MLRS in Dobropillia
OmiView full model page →
ManufacturerOpen Vision Engineering (Hey Pocket)Based Hardware
Form factorwearablewearable
Maturitycommercialcommercial
Autonomy——
Availabilityshipping-nowshippingshipping-nowshipping
Price$99-$199 (actual sale price)$89 (actual sale price)
Capability claims——
Brain——
Verified deployments1Global1Global
Privacy practices9cloud-upload, training-data-use, third-party-sharing, bystander-recording, data-deletion-control, data-sale, data-retention, location-tracking, data-deletion-control5third-party-sharing, on-device-processing, capture-indicator, data-deletion-control, cloud-upload
Sources on file76

Editorial summaries

Hey Pocket

Hey Pocket, by Open Vision Engineering (San Francisco, a Y Combinator W26 company; CEO Akshay Narisetti previously built Omi), is a screenless AI voice recorder and 'thought companion'. The 52-gram device works standalone and MagSafe-attaches to the back of a phone, with dual studio microphones plus a contact microphone for calls and on-device storage, running multi-model cloud AI (routing across GPT-5, Claude, and Gemini) for transcription in 120+ languages, summaries, mind maps, action items, and an Ask-Pocket Q&A feature. It sells for $99 at launch against a $199 regular price, with a free core and, distinctively, no subscription required (an optional Pocket Pro plan is $19.99 a month). DEPLOY records it at commercial maturity: a real, shipping product (live iOS and Android apps), not vaporware, and its AI substance is genuine. The editorial throughline is the no-subscription-core posture, a direct contrast to subscription-required rivals like Plaud.

Omi

Omi, by Based Hardware (founder Nik Shevchenko, San Francisco), is a shipping AI necklace in the ambient-recording 'second brain' category: a small circular orb on a neck lanyard that captures conversations and runs them through GPT-4o for ambient transcription in 25+ languages, auto-summaries and tasks, a searchable memory database, daily recaps, and a 'Brain Map'. It sells for $89 as a consumer unit (about $70 dev) one-time, with a free tier (unlimited on-device transcription plus 1,200 cloud minutes a month) and an optional Omi Unlimited plan from $16 a month; the user owns the device. It is one of the few genuinely open-hardware entries in the cohort: an MIT-licensed GitHub repo of about 12,700 stars with firmware, apps, and open hardware designs, maintained into 2026. The AI is genuine cloud functionality, not veneer. One significant cap-flag: the aspirational brain-interface and EEG 'reads-your-mind' marketing is not the shipping product, which is audio-only; the BCI module is roadmap with no code, and TechCrunch could not verify it. (Omi is distinct from Friend, Avi Schiffmann's pendant; Shevchenko's device was originally also named Friend and was renamed Omi.)

Common questions

What is the difference between Hey Pocket and Omi?
Hey Pocket and Omi are both wearable robots on the DEPLOY registry. They differ in maker, maturity, price, verified deployments, and how much of their autonomy is independently verified. See the table above for the full head-to-head; each figure is sourced.
Which is cheaper, Hey Pocket or Omi?
Omi has the lower recorded price on the DEPLOY registry than Hey Pocket. Prices are sourced; see each record for whether the figure is a manufacturer target, an estimate, or an actual sale price.
Which has more verified deployments, Hey Pocket or Omi?
Hey Pocket and Omi each have 1 verified deployment on the DEPLOY registry (confirmed at named sites with primary sources).

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