Google and Levi’s smart jacket shows what’s coming next for wearable tech

GOOGLE and Levi’s have showed off a new joint project: a US$350 (RM1,575) smart jean jacket. While this jacket puts tech on your sleeve, it does it in a subtle way that doesn’t require putting another screen on your body. In doing so, it offers a glimpse of what smart fabrics can do and of the evolution of the wearables market — one in which consumers won’t have to wear a clunky accessory that screams high tech.

The smart Commuter jacket has technology woven into its fibres, and allows users to take phone calls, get directions and check the time, by tapping and swiping their sleeves. That delivers information to them through their headphones so that they can keep their eyes on the road without having to fiddle with a screen. The jacket should hit stores later this year.

Its smart fibres are washable; they’re powered by a sort of smart cufflink that you’ll have to remove when you wash the jacket. The cufflink has a two-day battery life.

“I think that the commuter jacket from Levi’s is really perfect because it’s focused on a single consumer audience. It has the cyclist in mind and is targeting what their needs are,” said Sidney Morgan-Petro, retail editor at trend forecasting firm WGSN.

The Commuter jacket, she said, stands out as a type of wearable for a more everyday consumer who may not be that interested in the tech, but likes the practical features that come with a stylish jacket.

“Where smartwatches were once expected to take the lead, basic wearables now reign supreme,” Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst for the analysis firm International Data Corp., said in a December report. “From a design perspective, many devices are focusing on fashion first while allowing the technology to blend in with the background.”

I think that the commuter jacket from Levi’s is really perfect because it’s focused on a single consumer audience. It has the cyclist in mind and is targeting what their needs are. – Sidney Morgan-Petro, retail editor at trend forecasting firm WGSN

— Levi’s photo The smart jacket has technology woven into its fibres, and allows users to take phone calls, get directions and check the time, by tapping and swiping their sleeves.