Google's Advanced Technology and Projects group today unveiled its first consumer product, called the "Levi's Commuter Trucker Jacket" and going on sale this Wednesday, September 27, for $350 (via TechCrunch). The jacket is powered by Jacquard, a connected apparel platform that ATAP developed for fashion designers and apparel manufacturers to integrate technology directly into clothing lines.
The technology in the jacket is housed in the cuff of its sleeve, with gesture sensing Jacquard Threads woven into this area of the jacket that wirelessly connect to your iPhone 6 or later (running iOS 10 or later) "using tiny electronics embedded inside the sleeve and a flexible snap tag." The snap tag includes lights and haptic feedback so you can be notified of texts and phone calls, and gestures on the cuff can be customized to your own preferences using the Jacquard app on iOS and Android.
The first thing to know about the Levi's® Commuter™ Trucker Jacket with Jacquard is just that: it's a jacket. Like any regular denim jacket, you can wash it (just remove the snap tag), it's durable, designed to be comfortable for cycling and it’ll keep you warm on and off the bike. With Jacquard technology, you can perform common digital tasks—like starting or stopping music, getting directions or reading incoming text messages—by simply swiping or tapping the jacket sleeve.
Designed for cyclists and other people on-the-go, the jacket's gesture controls include music playback, GPS directions, ETA, current time, text-to-speech for messages, and more. Google said that the jacket is durable and can be washed as long as the snap tag is removed.
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And before Levis and Google get ahead of themselves, I’m going to type it out now: The last thing I need is Google in my pants.
Oh, nevermind.