I’m still waiting for the device that will let me “reach out and touch faith,” as Depeche Mode once sang. Instead, we’re still beholden to this mortal coil, lingering in a state where one may long for physical intimacy but find none of it in today’s online-obsessed world. To fill this void, the Bond Touch 4 bracelet offers long-distance physical intimacy in a slim, wearable package. As the name suggests, it lets you touch people from a distance.
The $70 Bond Touch 4 can send and receive signals from other users with the same wearable, feeling on their skin as if their loved one was tapping them. Through the Bond Touch app, users can modify their own types of haptic expressions on a loved one’s wrist from anywhere with an internet connection. The makers of the device, also called Bond Touch, said the wrist-mounted remote toucher is made best for couples in long-distance relationships, friends living apart, or even somebody who uses physical intimacy as a tool for calming nerves.
Bond Touch says the newly redesigned bracelet is more compact than previous versions. More importantly for those craving the touch of their loved ones, the new device has “improved sensitivity for a faster and more accurate response.” This new rendition of the company’s “emotional wearable” tech has a brighter LED visor and a better magnetic charger with its promised 4-day battery life. However, you might get less if you end up sending more than 20 touches a day. It may seem like a lot of touching, but for those who communicate with “Touch Language,” as the company puts it, that could be a short conversation.
Compared to older versions of the Bond Touch, the new iteration looks slightly more like a piece of jewelry than the more pronounced version. The band only comes in black and off-white with a gold-colored ring. The company promises that starting Oct. 17, you’ll be able to buy separate, colored bands in purple, pink, translucent black, and clear.
It’s still compatible with any previous Bond Touch, Bond Touch More, and Bond Touch Lite products. The company also sells the $100 Bond Heart, a similarly saccharine wearable that lets users record loved ones’ heartbeats onto a necklace and then feel them thumping against your chest.
Most modern wrist-mounted wearables are more obsessed with your exercise routine rather than your sense of emotional and physical connectivity. It’s hard to knock Bond Touch for trying to provide an intimate experience with real people, especially loved ones, across long distances. The most recent Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Apple Watch Series 10 use wrist taps for notifications, and some developers have made past attempts at creating long-distance touchy-feely apps for long-distance relationships.
The extra haptics in the Bond Touch bracelet are unique, if nothing else. The bracelets are already sold out in the company’s store. Gizmodo contacted Bond Touch about its plans for more stock, and we’ll update this post if we hear back.
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