Skip to main content

Gucci and Will.i.am free you from your phone with this flashy new smartband

Will.i.am with Gucci CEO Marco Bizzarri
Gucci
Will.i.am isn’t giving up on making tech, despite a decidedly lukewarm reception to his existing products, including the recently announced Puls smartwatch-style cuff. The musician announced he will be collaborating with Gucci Timepieces to make a new standalone smartband, that doesn’t need a smartphone to operate.

In a statement, Will.i.am said the they will be developing, “a device that’s both fashionable and technologically advanced,” and added that it will be “something unique in the marketplace.” What will it do? Apparently, we can expect it to make and receive calls, send messages, store music, run an email app, and act as a fitness tracker.

Gucci Will i am smartband
Image used with permission by copyright holder

If all that sounds familiar, it’s because Will’s Puls cuff has the same spec sheet, but not the Gucci Timepiece branding. Whether it’ll turn out to be a different device, or a rebranded, flashier Puls remains to be seen. Prior to the announcement, Will.i.am tweeted that he was “Just minutes from announcing the most exciting thing in my life.”

Recommended Videos

Perhaps fittingly, it was Vogue magazine that was given the exclusive, but sadly, the report doesn’t provide much technical detail. According to CNet, the smartband wasn’t officially shown at the launch event, but both Will.i.am and Gucci CEO Marco Bizarre wore prototypes. The teaser picture released to commemorate the deal shows how the smart band will probably look after being treated to a Gucci makeover before release.

The all-important price and release date have yet to be confirmed, but we’ll update here when more information is made available.

Andy Boxall
Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…
You’ll soon be able to control your iPhone and iPad with your eyes
The iPad Air 4 in hand.

Apple has announced a bunch of new accessibility features that will arrive later this year for iPhone and iPad owners. Notable among them is the ability to interact with iOS and iPadOS interfaces using eye movement, which is something that's seen in a similar system on Mac hardware.

The company calls it Eye Tracking, and it's a system built on the Dwell Control foundations. So far, Dwell Control has been available as part of the Accessibility Keyboard on macOS, allowing users to execute mouse actions using eye and head gestures.

Read more
Nomad’s new iPhone case and Apple Watch band may be its coolest yet
Nomad Glow 2.0 Sport Case and Apple Watch Sport Band in daylight.

Though the world of Apple accessories is a dime a dozen, one of the better brands that you can buy is Nomad. Nomad has a variety of amazing leather Apple Watch bands and cases, as well as non-leather options, too. In August 2023, Nomad released a one-of-a-kind Glow in the Dark Apple Watch band that sold out in about 12 hours.

Since that Glow in the Dark band was a limited edition, no one was sure if Nomad was going to re-release it, and this explains the high resale prices you’ll find on eBay. But Nomad just released the Glow 2.0 Apple Watch Sport Band as well as a new Glow 2.0 Sport Case for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. And, yes, they're just as wonderful as before.
The new and improved Glow 2.0

Read more
Your iPhone just got a new iOS update, and you should download it right now
iPhone 15 Pro display with iPhone 15 Pro Max in background.

Apple has just released a new security update, iOS 17.4.1. This comes a little over two weeks after iOS 17.4, which was a big update. iOS 17.4.1 doesn't add any new features, but it's still an important update you'll want to download as soon as you can.

With iOS 17.4.1, Apple states that the update “provides important bug fixes and security updates and is recommended for all users.” Apple doesn’t mention any specifics of these bug fixes, but more details on what this security update addresses may be revealed at a later date.

Read more