A new way to massage your face and eyes could be the strangest headset ever, but it could also just lull you to sleep.
Wearables for the wrist may well be the most common type you can find, and even maybe the “hearables” we call earphones and headphones, but a new style is on the way, though it won’t be one you’ll likely wear outside your home unless you’re trying to fall asleep.
It’s a gadget coming from Therabody, a company known for massage gadgets, arriving with a massage wearable for the face and eyes.
Looking a little like a VR headset but offering no goggles, screen, or anything remotely optical, the Therabody Smart Goggles are less like goggles and more like a very large eye mask for sleep, though it has a little more going for it than blocking the outside world.
Clearly a part, the other side of the Therabody Goggles is heat and massage controls, vibrating and warming against the face and eyes, and even working with an app to control its settings.
The app is likely where the whole “smart” side of the goggles comes from, with three modes designed to get you into a relaxed mood, covering “focus”, “smart relax”, and the one you might consider other sleep technology for, the aptly named “sleep”. There’s also a heart-rate monitor included, as well, which plays a part in the smart relax mode to track and slow things down.
Designed to be relatively compact, it’s charged from a Type C connection and offers nearly three hours of battery life, while also playing nicely with Therabody’s Bluetooth “Theramind”. We’ve not yet found out whether it will work with any other pair of Bluetooth earphones, though we’re keen to know more.
Priced in Australia at $299, the Therabody Smart Goggles look to be coming to select store shelves and the online world shortly.
