I don’t know if I’m quite having a breakdown, but I’m certainly sitting at my desk having some kind of adverse physical reaction to the fact that will.i.am has pumped another wearable device into this consumer electronics landfill we call Earth. Yes, Mr I.Am has made another smartwatch.
The thing is being produced in collaboration with Gucci, who along with will.i.am are lending their name to a device that will almost certainly be of no actual value. According to a breathless press release in Vogue, it will have “the ability to make and receive phone calls; send and receive text messages and emails; hold music, maps, and your calendar; track your fitness; and even possesses a “sophisticated personal assistant” activated by voice command”. It’s a strong, independent, cellular-enabled wearable, that doesn’t need a phone in order to work.
If you’re thinking that sounds suspiciously like will.i.am’s last attempt at a smartwatch, then yes, you’d be right. The Puls — lovingly described by our own Ashley Feinberg as “So Bad I’m Actually Kind Of Impressed” — also does all of the above, but comes in the form of a giant cuff that will eat your skin.
The Gucci and i.am+ smartband — catchy name, guys! — looks slightly sleeker in the renders above, and chances are, it will probably use a similar operating system to the Puls. That means it will probably be just as successful as Will’s other forays into technology. Remember the phone case, or the car company, or the MiFi teddy bear?
Mortal, mundane details like price and availability haven’t been released yet, thank god, which means there’s an outside chance this will never see the light of day. [Vogue]