If you are still under the impression that wearable tech is a sensible smartwatch that counts your steps and nags you when you’ve been sitting too long, you’re ready to have your mind blown. There is a fresh wave of devices that are emerging from fashion studios, robotics workshops and testing labs. They are bending the wearable category into something weird and extremely fun.
From mood sensing rings to AI sneakers that adjust to your gait, this is the era of “why not” in wearables. The new wearables mash up function, fashion and pure novelty that have spread across the tech blogs and our socials. So, let’s tour the most delightful, yet strange corners of this category to inspire your new wearable must have.
Mood Rings With Science
If you’re of a certain age, you’ll remember the OG mood ring or its subsequent revivals. However, the modern day mood ring still has that retro cool, but it now runs on biosignals rather than body heat.
Happy Ring is a medical grade smart ring with EDA (electrodermal activity) sensors to measure heart rate, temperature and more. This ring doesn’t just guess your current vibe, EDA can reflect your sympathetic nervous system arousal, which is the biological underpinning of stress.
Happy Ring got FDA clearance in 2024 and you can feel assured that the “mood” angle is not just colors swirling, but it is underpinned with real physiology.
The more mainstream smart ring, Oura has been embraced by many people and it leans hard into daily “stress” insights, translating heart rate and related signals into emoji adjacent, easy readouts. This helps you to see when your physiology is fired up to identify the positive and negative stressors in your life. While this is not technically “mood”, it has created a buzz within the wearable community, straddling self care and science with sparkle.
AI Sneakers to Learn Your Walk
You may have gone through dozens or hundreds of pairs of sneakers in your life. You may have even found a pair that feels great for a while. However, Moonwalkers from Shift Robotics have harnessed the power of AI to provide shoes that learn your walk to improve your gait and comfort.
The company pitch is that the shoes have an AI gait based control system which adapts to the terrain and your movement. There are switchable modes, from indoor to city or sport and you can even customize your profile. Essentially, this means that the sneakers learn your unique characteristics and preferences to provide speed and comfort. This is a mashup of mobility and mecha core.
Beyond motorized platforms, the footwear industry is exploring AI aided design and responsive biomechanics. Think adaptive midsole behavior and pressure mapping. There is industry and academic talk that in the near future, sneakers could anticipate stride patterns and automatically adjust the cushioning accordingly. This is not quite self lacing robot shoes, but the tech vibe is certainly there.
Color Changing Clothes
If a mood ring is not enough for your fashion fingerprint, you could soon be wearing color changing clothes. When your outfit changes hue mid conversation, it could be a trick of the light or thermochromic wizardry.
There are designers who have experimented with adding thermochromic pigments and resins into garments, which will respond to the environment or your body heat. In 2024, designer Kim Mesches showcased resin dresses and tops that moved through color palettes with the changing temperatures. This was a mesmerizing blend of chemistry and couture.
The brands exploring thermochromic activewear explain that the underlying trick is materials with a molecular structure that flips at certain thresholds, resulting in visible shifting colors. It is showy and clever, but it can also be a good reminder that you’re starting to overheat when you’re pushing it in the gym.
There is also the E-ink route, where flexible e-paper films are used for concept garments and architectural surfaces, swapping color palettes and patterns electronically. While most of these articles are about signage or automotive concepts, there are fashion adjacent demos that have people talking.
Clothes to Feel the Music
This follows on from the previous wearable concept, but you could wear clothing that literally moves you. CuteCircuit’s Soundshirt has haptic actuators mapping around the arms and torso, which translate music into touch in real time. From strings on your shoulders and crescendos across your back to percussion on your rubs, it would take a concert or live performance to a whole new level.
While this type of wearable was initially pitched for the hard of hearing, it has been steadily entering venues as both an accessibility tool and a new type of immersion. Performing arts orgs and opera houses have piloted it and there have even been football clubs exploring versions for stadiums.
Smart Glasses that Are Not Uncool
When smart glasses first started to appear on the scene, they may have been tech clever, but they weren’t exactly cool. However, there has been something unexpected between then and now with stylish smart glasses. Ray-Ban’s Meta Smart Glasses reframed (pun intended) the segment with offerings that easily pass the vibe check. These glasses capture POV video and photos, you can take calls and you can layer in a suite of AI tricks, all while looking like the ever classic Ray-Bans.
Analysts have predicted a sales surge in 2025, but we’re already seeing TikTok filled with pet POVs, first person city walks and vlogs without needing to hold a phone.
Even weirder is the rumor that competitors are joining the party, with Meta itself teasing AI+ wearables. This is a juicy cultural arc, where the once cringe vibes have sharpened into hands free and stylish.
AI Pins, Pendants and Memory Brooches
Not every weird wearable will make it in the demanding marketplace, but the ambition is still strong. The Humane AI Pin attempted to make a phone-less future a reality, with a chest mounted computer and laser projector. The reviews were disastrous, triggering a recall of the charging case and by early 2025, there was a shutdown and HP swooped in to get the leftovers. This is a cautionary tale about hardware hype and how brutal first-gen expectations can be, but it also proved how intense people can be about new wearable ideas.
However, there have been some success stories in this sub niche, such as the Limitless Pendant. This is a tiny clip-on that records and remembers your day. Once you consent in the settings, it can help you with to-dos, names and even recall conversations. It’s like wearing a note taker, which has set the productivity nerds and privacy hawks fighting it out in comments sections.
Manicure Microchips
Scroll on any visual social media platform and you’re likely to see beauty gurus and their manicures, but the latest weird wearable trend involves microchips on your manicure. The NFC manicure involves wafer thin chips being embedded under your gel or acrylic nail, which triggers your phone when tapped. You can open a website, share your insta, drop a business card or even kick off a Google/Apple Wallet action, depending on your settings. Some salons are pushing these smart nails which blend spy gadget with high fashion.
Mainstream tech media have explored this sub niche, noting they are more novelty than necessity, and that they can be fiddly to scan according to phone antenna placement. However, this hasn’t stopped a tap to share micro trend with Instagrammers and TikTok stars social flexing with their French tips.
Skin as Your Screen
A wearable doesn’t need a strap when your skin is hosting the tech. Research grade e-tattoos use flexible, ultra thin circuits that adhere like a temporary sticker. They can measure things like muscle or brain activity, temperature, sweat chemistry or eye movement.
In early 2025, a UT Austin research team demoed a wireless forehead e-tattoo for monitoring mental workload. Think drone operators or pilots who can’t afford to suffer cognitive overload. However, this has the potential to be a fast moving field, expanding into multi sensor, printable patches.
Graphene and other weird materials could enable comfortable, longer term skin sensors with the potential to replace chunkier wearables. This is an early and ambitiously weird area, but it could bring science fiction into reality in the near future.
Dressing Defensively
What would happen when wearable robotics meets couture? The potential for a delightfully defensive dress. Designer Anouk Wipprecht has a track record of blurring this line. Her Spider Dress extends articulated “legs” from the shoulders as a reaction to proximity. If you get too close, the dress literally gestures you back.
This started out as an Intel art piece, but the cultural imprint does remain. This fashion item literally defends your personal space, making people rethink what clothes can do.
Wipprecht’s most recent projects continue to push the interactive garment boundaries. Think dresses to monitor respiration, visualize screens or bring microcontrollers to the runway in unique and weird ways. Just scroll through her IG and you’ll see the potential for “future fashion.”
Why Everything is Getting So Weird and Why it’s Good
So, why is the wearable niche getting so weird? Well there are a number of reasons. Firstly, sensor technology has continued to shrink and now they are literally tiny. From EDA electrodes and optical sensors, to flexible batteries and accelerometers, these devices are now so small and inexpensive, they can be easily hidden in nails, rings, shirts and more. This unlocks the potential for form factors and sparks designers’ imaginations.
Other Weird Wearables to Check Out
| Wearable | What It Does | Why It’s Weird |
|---|---|---|
| Smart Helmets | AR maps + crash alerts | Like Mario Kart IRL |
| Haptic Gloves | Let you “feel” VR objects | Touching stuff that isn’t there |
| Smart Socks | Track gait + prevent injuries | Your socks judge your stride |
| Sleep Masks | Hack your REM cycles | Cyborg bedtime vibes |
| Smart Jewelry | Health tracker disguised as bling | Techy chic accessory |
| Smart Belts | Auto-adjust + track waistline | Your belt tattles on you |
Additionally, the rapid development of AI has allowed raw signals to feel more human. The models can now blend multiple streams like your temperature, motion and EDA to let you know your body is stressed now rather than just giving you a cold heart rate read out. This makes all the difference between reading a spreadsheet and listening to a story.
These developments have allowed non-tech professionals to get into the game. Fashion has jumped into the chat and now designers aren’t simply grafting gadgets onto garments, they are blending materials and creating interactive designs to create wearables that you’re happy to be seen wearing.
The best wearables become social objects, creating a conversation piece. Whether it is a color changing top or a nail to tap your phone, there is an automatic ice breaker and the potential to boost the algorithm metrics on your socials.
There is an online discourse where devices can explode in cycles online. From the initial OMG check this out to exploring “does it work,” new tech devices and wearables get people talking. Once the tech press and influencers get involved, brands start testing out clones and dupes to normalize the tech, regardless of how weird it seems.
The Fun and Friction of a Wearables World
If we’re totally honest, weirdness is wonderful since it is just that bit impractical, but it is how our world evolves.
Today wearables have become conversation aids. Whether it is a shirt that lets you feel a bass drop or a manicure that connects to your IG, these devices are tools to connect. Accessibility will always be a sleeper hit, blending weird with inclusive. Of course, the hype can sometimes be heartbreaking. First-gen models can spectacularly flame out, but the backlash is just part of the learning curve. The best ideas will be reincarnated in more wearable and thoughtful ways.
It is important to note that privacy issues will always be a tightrope issue. Stealth cameras and always on mics will raise eyebrows and smart nail payments will invite real questions about consent and security. So, we can continue to expect lively debate.
However, in the future we can expect more textiles that display, sense, or even compute, shrinking hard “devices” until they literally disappear into the garment. We may also see skin interfaces becoming normalized. If there are e-tattoos that can do in 24 hours what a smartwatch does, but in a less clunky way, it is likely to be a great plus, particularly for workplace safety and health. This will encourage devices to continue to move from lab demos to field trials and the marketplace as a whole.
These days wearables are becoming less a one trick device to a companion, doing more than just measuring data. With future wearables adapting and changing to the unique individual, we could see discrete coaching, translation and payment tools that simply slot into our everyday lives.
How to Try the Weird
Weird and wacky may be great on paper, but how do you try out the weird without regrets? Well there are a few things you can do.
Firstly, you need to pick a piece that has a clear use. If you want the “wow” of a great wearable but crave staying power, you will need to choose something that provides a genuine solution for an issue. For example, a stress ring to provide biofeedback can help with your routine, or a Soundshirt for accessible shows. It needs to be something that fits your lifestyle and if it is only a party trick, treat it as such with light expectations.
Next, you need to make sure that you literally and figuratively scan the care label. Thermochromic pieces still need washing, but with TLC. Rings with EDA will need consistent skin contact, and how long can you expect your NFC nails to last? You’ll need to plan for how you will get the best use out of your new wearable. Remember that you will also need to consider your surroundings. Wearables that have cameras or always on mics will demand social etiquette. This includes consent in meetings or indicator lights on, so your friends, co-workers and acquaintances don’t feel tricked into being extras on the “you” show.
Finally, before you commit to a purchase, be sure to investigate the community rather than just taking in the ads. Explore forums, subreddits and TikTok videos, so you can appreciate the real world quirks. This chatter will be the best buyer’s guide, so you’ll know if you need to be prepared for smudgy lenses, iffy NFC reads or stress graphs that go off the charts when you’re playing Mario Kart.
The Joy of the Weird
The best thing about the wearables in today’s marketplace is that they are unapologetic for being a little extra. They are not all about productivity, they’re not just about fitness, they are becoming an extension of style and self. So, while they can help you to focus, work or improve your health, they are about starting conversations.
So, the next time a friend shows up wearing a ring with the claim it can feel their stress, or taps their pinky to your phone to send a contact card, don’t laugh or roll your eyes, ask how it works and what it feels like.
The future of wearables isn’t merely about data, it’s about a little delightful weirdness that can look great on anyone.
