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.”

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.

Editors' Recommendations

Andy Boxall
Senior Mobile Writer
Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…
Trading in your iPhone with Apple? You’ll get less than yesterday
An iPhone 14 Pro Max with the display turned on. We see the Home Screen and Pixel Pals running in the Dynamic Island.

For the second time in two months, Apple has reduced the trade-in values of many of its iPhones and other products.

Spotted by MacRumors, the adjustments are pretty significant for some of its handsets.

Read more
You’re ruining your iPhone 14 Pro if you turn off the always-on screen
iPhone 14 Pro showing the Moon always-on screen, held in a man's hand.

With the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max Apple gave us a wonderful gift, but I’m seeing some ungratefulness. I’m talking about the always-on screen, which brings the new iPhone alive in a way it never has been before. Yet, and I can’t believe I’m about to say this, there are quite a lot of people turning the feature off!

By dismissively rejecting the iPhone 14 Pro’s always-on screen like this, you’re ruining the best thing about it.
What’s so good about it?

Read more
How much storage do you need on your new iPhone 14? Here’s how to decide
The five Apple iPhone 14 colors.

The new iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro are finally available, and Apple is again offering a selection of storage tiers. The big question is just how much storage do you need on your iPhone 14? Similar to last year, the iPhone 14 series lets you choose as little as 128GB and as much as 1TB. This means that if you want to get a new iPhone, you'll need to pick between 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB options. Bigger isn't always better, nor is it always excessive. Only you know how you use your phone, but here's a quick guide to help you pick which iPhone size is the best option for you.

Model
iPhone 14
iPhone 14 Plus
iPhone 14 Pro
iPhone 14 Pro Max

Read more