[Gadgets] How gadgets got glam! Ear pods that look like Chanel. A fitbit that doubles as a bracelet. And gold watches to calm hot flushes...

[Mr.Bada]

Link : https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-10583577/amp/How-gadgets-got-glam-Ear-pods-look-like-Chanel-fitbit-doubles-bracelet.html

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever . . . Or, when it comes to pretty gadgets and gizmos, it is a joy until something a bit cooler and cuter comes onto the market.

 

You might have noticed that, lately, in the traditionally macho world of tech, there’s been a silent revolution stirring — or rather shimmying, glittering and come-hithering.Packaging on previously austere and functional items, including smart watches and iPhones, is starting to creep towards the ‘feminine’, as retailers race to cash in on the ever-increasing spending power of women.

 

Women make up 51 per cent of the po[CENSORED]tion, but we control 85 per cent of household spending decisions.

 

Men’s last stand was in the world of tech. Until now.In 2017, the gap in spending on tech between men and women was 10 per cent, so closing that gap, in a market worth £22.2 billion of revenue in the UK alone this year, is a potential goldmine.

 

While some companies are funnelling money and research into creating brand new ‘Femtech’ that is uniquely suited to women — such as apps and devices which monitor health concerns including fertility and menopause — others have cottoned on to the potential profits to be made not by tweaking their technology but in releasing it in limited- edition designs to appeal to women.

 

This industry trend for slapping a feminine design on otherwise gender-neutral products has even got a name: GlamTech. Fitness tracking company Fitbit was one of the first to make inroads into this market

 

The company charges a premium for the limited-edition version of its Fitbit Luxe activity tracker, which sits on a metal chain-link bracelet instead of the usual rubberised band. (Fitbit also includes a period tracking function on the Luxe model, straddling the divide between GlamTech and FemTech.) Soundcore is another company glamming up tech — this time on the audio scene, ditching dull headphones to create a pair of stylish sunglasses which transmit sound through speakers in the arms of the glasses.Meanwhile, Chinese firm Huawei has introduced Freebuds Lipstick — scarlet in-ear audio buds that slip into a black and gold case reminiscent of a Chanel lipstick, differentiating it from the ubiquitous androgyny of the Apple Airpods.

 

Elsewhere, regular cameras, chargers and keyboards are encased in pink and pastel shades. They work in exactly the same way as other products but look … well, lovely.

 

The rise of GlamTech is not without controversy, though: it has become a highly charged issue, with some marketing strategists calling it sexist and lazy.