NEWS

Google and Levis' second jacket is smarter, but still a novelty

By A Mystery Man Writer

You wouldn't normally think of Google as a maker of clothing, but the company has been working on a platform for connected apparel and accessories for awhile now. Four years ago, it teased Jacquard, a platform involving touch-sensitive threads that can be woven into fabrics to make them "smart." The first Jacquard-enabled smart jacket launched in 2017, giving us a glimpse at the potential of this system. But it had limited use and appeal. It specifically targeted people who bike to work. An update arrived last year, making Jacquard slightly more useful. But, there's a lot more work to be done, and Google is ready to show us what's next with an updated and cheaper version of the smart jacket.
You wouldn't normally think of Google as a maker of clothing, but the company has been working on a platform for connected apparel and accessories for awhile now. Four years ago, it teased Jacquard, a platform involving touch-sensitive threads that can be woven into fabrics to make them smart. The first Jacquard-enabled smart jacket launched in 2017, giving us a glimpse at the potential of this system. But it had limited use and appeal. It specifically targeted people who bike to work. An update arrived last year, making Jacquard slightly more useful. But, there's a lot more work to be done, and Google is ready to show us what's next with an updated and cheaper version of the smart jacket.
You wouldn't normally think of Google as a maker of clothing, but the company has been working on a platform for connected apparel and accessories for awhile