Twelve fabric-covered gadgets that show how technology can be more cosy

The year 2018 has seen a significant emergence of fabric-covered tech products, signaling a shift towards more gentle and unobtrusive devices in domestic environments. This trend aligns with predictions made over two decades ago by trend forecaster Li Edelkoort, who, in her seminal exhibition Softwear, envisioned a future where technology seamlessly integrated into home life and remote work became common. Edelkoort revisited this concept in a 2018 joint exhibition with Google at Milan Design Week, noting Google's emphasis on tactility and soft curves in its hardware design. Ivy Ross, Google's vice-president of hardware design, articulated this approach as making technology more human and integrated through familiar, rounded forms and soft aesthetics. This movement towards 'cosy technology' is not limited to fabric. Other design innovations, such as Samsung's television disguised as a painting and Nendo's wooden speaker, also contribute to the broader trend of introducing a sense of calm and tactile warmth into domestic settings. However, textiles have proven to be a particularly common and effective material for tech companies to achieve tactility and a perception of comfort in their products. The article highlights twelve notable examples of this trend. Google is identified as a pioneer, with nearly all its current hardware featuring textile components. The Google Daydream View virtual-reality headset, released in 2016, is a prominent example, designed to hold a smartphone and bring VR experiences into a more textile-friendly form. Small product design studio Planeta also developed a similar fabric headset earlier that year. Microsoft's Surface line of laptops incorporates Alcantara, an Italian-made microfibre resembling suede, on its keyboards to add luxury and comfort. HP's Tango X printer, launched in September 2018, features a linen cover that conceals the wireless device like a book jacket when not in use, serving as a paper landing zone when open and contributing to a cleaner, more compact design. This design approach is described by HP as making the product “a little more harmonious and a little more human.” In the smart speaker market, textiles have become standard. Apple's HomePod features a mesh material, Amazon's Echo offers woven textures, and Google's Home Mini is almost entirely covered in fabric, resembling a soft, stone-like button with lights shining through when active. The Ome smart doorbell, designed with Map, includes a fabric-covered, pill-shaped speaker for indoor use, emphasizing a simple, beautiful, and smart design. Yves Behar's Snoo crib, a robotic baby crib designed to rock babies back to sleep, integrates technology within a soft, textile mesh and wooden structure to blend into a nursery or bedroom. Google Pixel Buds, wireless headphones, use a fabric cord to connect the earbuds, enhancing comfort and softening the device's appearance. Thing Industries' furry Wi-Fi router, part of a Google experiment to aestheticize routers, further illustrates the integration of soft materials into home tech. IKEA's Eneby speakers and Bang & Olufsen's BeoSound Shape system also leverage fabric to create visually and acoustically integrated products. The Nest Thermostat E includes a fabric-covered Heat Link device for remote heating control. Finally, Aura Powered Clothing by Yves Behar and Superflex demonstrates the embedding of technology into soft, flexible textiles for mobility assistance, alongside other examples like Google's Project Jacquard and Wearable X's posture-correcting leggings, showcasing how technology can be seamlessly woven into fabrics without sacrificing softness or comfort. #FabricTech #SoftTechnology #TechDesignTrends #SmartHomeDevices #TextileIntegration #ProductDesign #GoogleHardware #DomesticTech #ComfortTech #FabricTech #SoftTechnology #TechDesignTrends #SmartHomeDevices #TextileIntegration #ProductDesign #GoogleHardware #DomesticTech #ComfortTech

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