The New Friend AI Pendant Can Now Talk Back to You

Boone Ashworth· Jul 30, 2026 · 3:39 PM UTC ·5 min read · 0 reactions · 0 comments · 4 views

TL;DR · WeSearch summary

Boone AshworthGearJul 30, 2026 11:39 AMThe New Friend AI Pendant Can Now Talk Back to YouAvi Schiffmann has a new version of his controversial AI companion. He props his feet up on the side table and leans back, a round, softly glowing circular Friend pendant dangling from a yellow cord around his neck.This is the second iteration of the Friend necklace, the controversial AI companion device that just about everyone (me included) seems to hate. The company announced the device on Thursday through its new X handle.The first version of Friend was an always-listening AI wearable that responded via text message.

Key facts

▪Boone AshworthGearJul 30, 2026 11:39 AMThe New Friend AI Pendant Can Now Talk Back to YouAvi Schiffmann has a new version of his controversial AI companion.
▪He props his feet up on the side table and leans back, a round, softly glowing circular Friend pendant dangling from a yellow cord around his neck.This is the second iteration of the Friend necklace, the controversial AI companion device th
▪The company announced the device on Thursday through its new X handle.The first version of Friend was an always-listening AI wearable that responded via text message.

How this story was covered

2 outlets in our directory ran this story, first to last over 3 hours. All of the coverage we found sits in one bucket: centre. That one-sidedness is itself worth noticing.

Centre · 1

▪ Friend re-launches its AI pendant with a speaker that talks to you, for twice the price — The Verge

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Original publisher	WIRED
Canonical URL	https://www.wired.com/story/the-friend-2-necklace-can-talk-back-to-you-now/
Publication time	Thu, 30 Jul 2026 15:39:33 +0000
Retrieval time	2026-07-30T15:42:03.482Z
Last seen	2026-07-30T15:42:03.482Z
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Summary	WeSearch · cerebras-chat (WeSearch summarizer)
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Cluster	yKR7T4RtRoFY · 2 stories
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Publisher visit	Yes — open original
Substitutes article?	No — link-out required for full text

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Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand

Boone AshworthGearJul 30, 2026 11:39 AMThe New Friend AI Pendant Can Now Talk Back to YouAvi Schiffmann has a new version of his controversial AI companion. It’s more expensive, and you can’t change its personality.Courtesy of FriendCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyFriend CEO Avi Schiffmann welcomes me into his palace—what he calls his large apartment in San Francisco.He sits on the couch in his living room, clad in an orange shirt emblazoned with a cartoon version of the motorcycle driven by Italian racer Valentino Rossi.

…

Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at WIRED.

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