Friend, the AI-companion pendant that New York protesters tried to shout down last year, has relaunched with a speaker so it can reply out loud, and doubled its price to $249. V2 comes in at $249 (over double the cost of V1) with a $9.99/mo subscription to unlock permanent memory greater than 30 days.
The pendant's defining feature: The pendant's voice and personality are randomly assigned and locked from the start, with a pledge that no update will erase its identity. The device listens continuously and now speaks back through a built-in speaker, replacing V1's text-only responses.
Friend's original October 2025 New York subway campaign—costing over $1M—sparked protests and vandalism. The product positioning remains polarizing: The company's preferred category is apparently "something between a confidant, a friend, and possibly God," which is a bold product brief for an object that hangs from a USB-shaped cord.
The AI wearable category has largely flopped (Rabbit, Humane), though Meta's glasses and buzz around OpenAI's rumored hardware suggest the form factor isn't dead. Friend V1 originally launched at $99; The new version costs $249, up from $99 when Friend first launched.