Gadgets meet garments – But will anyone wear wearable tech?
In the leader from The Drum's most recent issue, we take a look at whether wearable tech can ever go mainstream.
The term wearable technology is really a misnomer. Sure, there’s plenty of technology around. But wearable? No dedicated follower of fashion would be seen dead in most of it.
Sonny Vu, the CEO of Misfit Wearables, summed it up elegantly recently when he said: “To be really wearable, an object needs to either be beautiful or invisible.” In our cover story this issue, we examine whether any of the wearable technology on the horizon ticks either of those boxes.
Technology as fashion is hardly a new concept. Just look at the iPhone. It may not be the best smartphone on the market, but it is the best looking, and that’s why consumers have lapped it up in their droves. It is estimated that, at some point over the last few weeks, Apple sold its 500 millionth iPhone. This device has transcended technology to become a fashion accessory, a status symbol and – in the eyes of Apple devotees at least – a signifier of good taste.
Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and there are plenty out there who would have you believe that Apple’s eye-watering milestone only goes to prove that there are 500 million fashion victims in the world. What few would disagree on, however, is that many of the most hyped wearables launched so far are, for want of a better word, ugly.
The Pebble and Galaxy Gear show promise but feel unrefined. Oculus Rift, the much vaunted virtual reality technology now in the hands of Facebook, makes the wearer look as though they’ve tripped face first onto their vacuum cleaner. As for Google Glass, not even Cara Delevingne or David Gandy could pull on a pair of those specs without feeling self-conscious.
Google knows Glass needs a makeover, and that’s why it has teamed up with Luxottica, the Italian company that makes Ray-Ban, to turn its eyewear into something altogether more stylish. This is where things could get interesting, as the fashion and tech worlds begin to intersect. Just imagine how exciting the wearables market would be if a brand like Burberry got involved.
Aside from aesthetics, the other hurdle for wearable technology is that the products currently available offer little advancement on the devices we already carry with us. The smartwatches released so far, for instance, have failed to convince us that they will improve our lives in the way the smartphone has. As products, they don’t feel vital.
Again this is where Apple appeals. When it markets a new product, the advertising doesn’t bore you with facts and figures about hardware specifications. Instead it focuses on the experiences you’ll have with that device – the pictures you’ll take as you travel the world, the music you’ll listen to on your way, illustrating how it will become part of the fabric of your daily life.
This is what the wearable tech manufacturers featured in the latest issue of The Drum must look to emulate. They must learn to make their devices objects of desire by prizing design as highly as they prize tech. They should embrace the fashion industry, and look to form strategic partnerships, because rest assured there are massive riches on offer for the first brands to get this right.
For now, the wearable technology market really must shake off the sense that it is struggling with an image problem, and start living up to its name.
This article was first published as the leader in the 2 April issue of The Drum. The cover story is a feature on whether wearable tech will ever be truly wearable. You can read the piece by subscribing to The Drum here – or if you're already a subscriber, can access a downloadable pdf of the latest issue here.