Skip to main content

Ralph Lauren’s new smart Polo shirts combine fashion and technology

High-tech, meet high fashion. With Ralph Lauren’s introduction of its new “smart” PoloTech shirt, high-tech fashion is now synonymous with high-fashion technology. For a cool $295, you can be the proud owner of one of these luxury items, made all the more impressive by their next generation material (or, if you’re a purist, their name brand design). With the silver fibers that have become a mainstay in smart clothing, including in radiation protecting underwear, Ralph Lauren’s PoloTech shirt tells you how to work out, and records information about your exercise routine so that you look as good out of the shirt as you do in it.

The PoloTech, first debuted at the 2014 U.S. Open, was initially worn by ball boys and American tennis player Marcos Giron to test the technology’s effectiveness. It marked the first time a major fashion label had delved into the realm of smart clothing — previously, only accessories had been breached by designers of a similar caliber, like the Tory Burch-designed FitBit. David Lauren, the Ralph Lauren’s executive vice president of global advertising, marketing and corporate communications noted that their latest release appears as “the first major luxury fashion brand to come to market” with such a technologically advanced piece of clothing.

Recommended Videos

Thanks to the silver fibers and a tiny “black box” sensor that attaches into the shirt close to the wearer’s rib cage, the “second-skin” PoloTech expertly tracks health metrics like steps taken, heart rate, breathing rate and depth, and energy expenditures. This data is then transferred to a Ralph Lauren iOS app — sorry Android users, no fun for you. Still, the PoloTech shirt believes that it and its app set themselves apart by not only aggregating information, but then going a step further and providing the user with advice on how to improve workouts.

While the PoloTech will only be available for men when it launches on August 27, the company is also looking toward a women’s version, and expanding its line of smart wear to include other types of clothing — maybe even a smart suit. Of course, given the price point of the shirt alone, you’ll have to be prepared to shell out some major change for this personalized workout device, but just think of it this way — at $295, it’s still $55 cheaper than the Apple Watch.

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
GlassesUSA Black Friday Sale: Get 30% off prescription glasses
GlassesUSA frames close up with multiple styles.

Need a new pair of glasses? Want to stock up for your holiday trips before you head to meet up with your relatives? Typically, you'd have to wait until the official Black Friday event, the day after Thanksgiving, or maybe even Cyber Monday, but that's not the case this year. Alongside a variety of the best online glasses deals, GlassesUSA is hosting a huge Black Friday sale early, allowing you to save big on prescription glasses and frames with no waiting necessary. Of course, we always recommend browsing the sale of your own accord to see what's discounted because we couldn't possibly cover everything, nor could we know precisely what you're looking for. That said, we've called out quite a few of the best deals below.

What to shop in the early GlassesUSA Black Friday sale
Rightfully dubbed the Black Friday Early Bird sale, now's an excellent time to save up to 30% on prescription glasses. Moreover, GlassesUSA is truly dedicated to helping you find the perfect pair. Not only are there a ton of brands and styles to choose from, but you'll benefit from free shipping and returns and a money-back guarantee if you're not satisfied. You can even take to find the correct pair for your face. Ray-Ban, Oakley, DKNY, Prada, Ottoto, Muse, they are all here and available to shop, most discounted even. Men's and Women's eyewear are on sale, too, so there's something for everyone.

Read more
The best DNA testing kit Black Friday deals you can shop now
Daughter gifting Ancestry Gift Membership to family

DNA tests are awesome holiday gifts for your family. Together you can all build your family tree and discover your genetic makeup. Unfortunately the tests are pretty expensive, but at least you only need to test once. There are some nice Black Friday deals going on today that will save you a significant amount of money on single tests or bundles. Check out our favorite below, then more more deals worth checking out under that.
The best DNA testing kit Black Friday deal
AncestryDNA Genetic Test Kit -- $59, was $99

The single person AncestryDNA Genetic Test Kit is our pick for the best Black Friday deal already available. The kit normally costs $99, but right now it's down to just $59. That's a nice discount of $30 on one of the best DNA tests available. We're not sure how long this deal will last, so you should grab it soon.

Read more
The 5 best DNA test kits for 2024
We spit in a ton of test tubes to find the best and most unique DNA tests
A 23andme DNA kit.

Despite the fact that tons of competitors have sprung up in recent years, 23AndMe still makes the best DNA test on the market. It's the quickest, it's very comprehensive, and the way the company presents your genetic data is simple and easy to digest. However, depending on what kind of information you're looking for, there are other, more specialized DNA tests that might be better suited for you. Whether it's ancestry, fitness, disease risk, or something else entirely, there's likely a DNA kit that'll uncover that data.

With the rising popularity of these tests, we decided to take a closer look and see which ones are worth the investment. To do this, we secured a mail-in kit from as many DNA testing services as we could find, then shipped them a spit tube full of our precious genetic code for analysis. After looking through all the data and personally trying all of these services, there were a few that stood out from the pack. Here are our favorites:
The best DNA test kit in 2024

Read more