Here’s wearable tech you’d actually wear. In partnership with Nike, Intel, and Project Runway, Digital Trends presents FashioNXT’s first annual Wearable Technology Fashion Competition. The design that wins this competition — and ultimately breaks through in this space — will at last bring fashion, style and elegance together in a complete package, making a must-have for the wearable tech world.
Last week we picked the following three finalists, and we’ll determine a winner on Thursday, October 9, at the FashioNXT Runway Show. But we want your help! Take a minute to peruse the finalists below, and vote for your favorite. We’ll take the winner of the popular vote into account when we determine an ultimate winner.
The QBracelet is a stylish bracelet designed for both men and women that has the ability to charge smartphones and other electronics. People can cordlessly connect their devices direct to the bracelet via a connector that lies within the bracelet’s clasp. Once connected, the QBracelet is free-standing and allows for easy, unfettered phone use. Lightweight, elegant and crafted from the highest quality materials, the QBracelet comes in matte black, polished and matte silver and polished gold. The QBracelet comes in two configurations, micro-USB for Android or similar devices, and an Apple Lightning connector version for Apple devices. The QBracelet is available in sizes small, medium and large.
The Killers Suit is a light emitting performance suit constructed of flexible OLEDs. Designed for the contemporary performer or entertainer, the Killers Suit translates live sound into light and color through microphones and an Arduino micro controller. Eighteen embedded microphones pick up audience reactions as well as live music, sending data such as volume, tempo, and frequency to the Arduino mainframe. The micro controller instantly processes this data and activates each OLED. Open source software allows programmers to establish specific visual responses towards a wide range of sounds. Endless imagery and motion can be programmed into the suit.
Named after the first three digits of the Greek letter and mathematical symbol Pi, the 314 is a luxury leather handbag integrated with charging technology and LEDs, with an accompanying mobile app. Currently, The 314 includes a seamlessly-integrated, TSA-approved power source that allows users to charge smartphones fourteen times (or two weeks) before needing a refill. Also integrated in the hardware of handbag are LEDs that automatically light up in low ambient lighting to help with locating items inside. Most importantly, thvere is a mobile app that learns your charging behavior and automatically orders cartridge refills before you even know you need them.
The OnePlus Buds Clip are a new pair of open-ear earbuds built around a simple convenience. They join Sony’s LinkBuds Clip in the growing ear-cuff category, but either OnePlus bud can go on either ear.
Sensors recognize how the earbuds are being worn and route the audio channels accordingly. There’s no label to check before putting them on, and the feature also works when only one bud is used.
We buy fitness bands and activity trackers to keep tabs on our exercise, but it is easy to forget to start tracking or switch modes when moving between different activities. For Fitbit and Pixel Watch users, that could soon become a lot less annoying, as Google is rolling out a major upgrade to automatic activity tracking that can recognize more than 100 types of exercise, up from just 10 before.
Google first showed off the improved tracking earlier this month alongside the Fitbit Edge. It is now coming to Fitbit Air and the Pixel Watch 3, 4, and 5, and Google claims the added context behind the system makes workout detection nearly twice as accurate while cutting missed activities by more than half. Fitbit Edge will support it too.