- The90 Gem necklace measures UV rays in your environment
- It then provides personalized advice on how to stay safe.
- The high-tech device is designed as a pendant necklace.
It often doesn’t take much to burn your skin if you’re in the sun, and even a few minutes of exposure can cause damage if you’re not properly protected. Instead of guessing about the best course of action, a new wearable from The90 could help you know exactly what to do.
Dubbed Gem, the product describes itself rather grandly as “The first personal solar intelligence system” that helps you “future-proof your skin in real time.” Despite this, at first glance it looks like a simple pendant. Worn around the neck, it could easily be mistaken for a piece of jewelry to the untrained eye. But there is much more than that.
The main pendant is actually an ultraviolet (UV) light sensor that can measure the levels of UVA (aging) and UVB (burn) you are subject to. Combine this with your personalized skin profile, which covers your skin type, your current clothing, and whether you’ve already applied sunscreen.
Once the device has all that, it can give you advice on when it’s time to apply more sunscreen, cover up with extra clothing, or get in the shade and protect yourself from the sun completely. It does this through the company’s companion app, which is available for free.
Actionable information
Many weather apps provide data on UV rays in your local area, but the problem is that they will always be relatively inaccurate as they cover wide areas. A device like the Gem, on the other hand, can measure UV levels in your immediate environment, giving you potentially more accurate information.
And because it takes into account variable factors, such as your clothing and skin type, it could give you more valuable and practical information than something that simply gives general advice.
Still, it has a couple of limitations. For one, it only comes in one style, and it may not be everyone’s cup of tea. When you have a device that also doubles as a health tracker and wearable necklace, it could be a risk to offer only a veneer.
Additionally, the Gem is priced at $299, making it a fairly expensive and therefore quite specialized device. This is perhaps reflected in its positioning as a high-tech piece of jewelry rather than a simple UV tracker. Still, it could cost more people more money than a simpler product.
Despite all that, the Gem is promising. Founded by a Fitbit/Google veteran and with a lot of interesting ideas, it could certainly be something to watch.
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