As AI begins to move from the screen into the real world, the competitive dynamics of smart hardware are also shifting.
In the past, when consumers purchased an AI hardware device, they typically had to choose from features pre-defined by the manufacturer. Brands packaged these preset functions and delivered them as a whole, leaving users with little room to adapt the product to their specific use cases beyond the manufacturer’s prescribed framework. However, as large‑model capabilities continue to advance and Vibe Coding gains traction, the boundaries of AI hardware are being redefined: users are no longer merely end‑users of pre‑built functions; they can also become creators of their own products, enabling ordinary people to use natural language to design and build custom AI hardware tailored to their unique needs.
Recently, at the 2026 Guancha Conference, HachimoDock—the open-source AI hardware incubated by Xiaomi’s Technology Committee’s Innovative Products Team—made its public debut. This palm-sized desktop device breaks away from the conventional logic of AI hardware design, allowing users to customize it according to their personal preferences. It integrates features such as a personalized desk pet, voice-controlled desktop agent, smart home integration, and custom component creation, aiming to become the first AI hardware for beginners to get started with Vibe Coding, enabling more people to experience the joy of using natural language to create an all‑purpose desktop companion.
Using a desktop pet as the interaction medium, HachimoDock reimagines the AI assistant—from a cold, command‑driven executor to a desktop companion that combines emotional value with productive capabilities. HachimoDock comes preloaded with a West Highland White Terrier character, but users can also upload photos of their own pets, avatars, or original custom characters, or import creations from the community, to design a personalized desktop pet and customize its name, personality, and voice tone.
According to the introduction, users can interact directly with the desk pet via voice, and multiple devices can even pick up on each other’s conversations. The desk pet will translate user intent into various tasks and assign them to different agents on the computer side, such as Codex, WorkBuddy, and others—for example, looking up information, organizing files, or writing code.
Meanwhile, the HachimoDock screen also synchronously displays task statuses such as “thinking,” “executing,” and “waiting for confirmation,” providing progress feedback through desktop pet expressions, animations, brief prompts, and audio cues. On the security and privacy front, any critical operations involving authorization are still confirmed by the corresponding client.
Device personalization extends to the hardware itself. Users can swap keycaps, choose different mechanical keyboard switches, customize colors and key feel, and operate various components via the touchscreen, physical keys, and a joystick. For a device meant to sit on a desk, these design choices not only enhance operational flexibility but also bring it closer to a desktop companion that users can tailor to their preferences.
Table Pet + Agent form the core experience of HachimoDock, but the creation of custom components is what truly sets this device apart. Typically, a device’s functional capabilities are fixed at the time of manufacture; manufacturers add features through system updates, while developers must adhere to predefined interfaces and development standards.
HachimoDock is seeking to transform this relationship. With Vibe Coding, users can collaborate with the Coding Agent using natural language, turning their ideas into components that run on devices. According to the team, some personalized components can be created in a matter of minutes, sparing users from having to master the entire programming process from scratch. By combining four interaction modes—buttons, joysticks, voice, and touch—the platform unlocks even more creative possibilities.
For a simple example, users who regularly monitor market trends can create a custom watchlist widget to track prices and price changes; users who frequently rely on AI tools can build a token‑usage dashboard or display their computer’s status and to‑do list on a small screen; and those looking to improve their daily habits can set up widgets for weather updates, Pomodoro timers, water‑drinking reminders, and more.
Games and fun tools can also serve as creative content. Users can enjoy gameplay such as Snake, mazes, catch‑the‑ball, and fruit‑cutting, or try out components like virtual pets, spinning wheels, lucky draws, coin tosses, tarot cards, and wooden fish, all customizable to their own preferences. Existing creations in the community provide inspiration, and completed components can be shared so others can experience and build upon them.
Beyond the desktop environment, HachimoDock’s capabilities extend into the home. By integrating with Xiaomi Miloco, users can issue voice commands to control their smart home devices, and the device’s small screen can switch to a home‑control dashboard, displaying device statuses, lighting controls, and monitoring feeds—turning a single desktop device into both a computer agent and an interactive gateway for smart home systems.
The head of Xiaomi’s Technology Committee’s Innovative Products Team stated, “We aim to leave the design space of HachimoDock open to every user, enabling more people to experience the joy of AI‑powered hardware creation at a lower cost.” Reportedly, the hardware’s self‑manufacturing cost is approximately 150 yuan. All software source code has been made publicly available on GitHub, along with a complete bill of materials, structural component models, and assembly instructions, allowing users to modify it freely according to their own ideas.
In a sense, the value of HachimoDock lies not only in the variety of ready-to-use use cases it offers, but also in its effort to empower users with the ability to continuously expand functionality. Of course, Vibe Coding doesn’t mean that every idea can seamlessly turn into a mature product—complex features still require development, debugging, and adaptation. Nevertheless, it does help shorten the gap between an idea and a prototype, making hardware development no longer the exclusive domain of professional developers.
Additionally, for the HachimoDock product, lowering the barrier to entry is only the first step; how to keep users consistently creating, maintain engagement, and ensure that AI-generated components are truly stable and practical remains a challenge—and one that the entire AI hardware industry must address.
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