If you like the idea of starting a playlist on your phone with a spontaneous moonwalk, Samsung has just made a pair of limited-edition sneakers for you.
The Shortcut Sneaker, which will sadly be limited to just six pairs, has been created by a combination of Samsung, Elitac Wearables and sneaker designer Roel van Hoff. The Samsung-owned marketing group Chiel Benelux has also had a hand in it, so there’s definitely borderline hint of vaporware about them, but we like the concept.
The Shortcut’s soles contain motion sensors that track their position, with five movements or gestures triggering five distinct actions. Exactly what those shortcuts are isn’t yet completely clear, but some of the examples include making a phone call or playing music by executing a moonwalk.
As the video below explains, you won’t see these sneakers in stores. Instead, the six pairs will be for competition winners, who need to be Samsung Members. You can enter the competition in your Samsung Members account up until July 9 and the winners will apparently be announced during the week of July 15.
With a design that contains multiple nods to Samsung’s Galaxy phones, there certainly won’t be a shortage of entrants among hardcore Samsung fans.
Dancing to a familiar tune
While the Shortcut sneakers are more of concept than a finished product or a signal that Samsung is moving into sneakers, they are definitely an intriguing idea that fits into a growing theme of hands-free gesture controls.
This week, Apple announced that AirPods Pro 2 owners will soon be able to use ‘head gestures’ in iOS 18 to answer phone calls. With the feature enabled, you’ll be able to turn down a call by shaking your head (or nodding, if you want to take it).
While the Shortcut promises to be “the first sneaker in the world with which you can call your friends”, according to Samsung, it also isn’t the first example of tech-filled footwear we’ve seen, with Nike revealing self-lacing, app-controlled basketball sneakers back in 2019 and these retro-gaming shoes also grabbing our attention in 2021.
Nothing can quite top the Back to the Future-inspired Nike HyperAdapt trainers, of course, but we’ll still likely throw our hats into the ring for Samsung’s Shortcut Sneaker while we secretly perfect our moonwalk.
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mark.wilson@futurenet.com (Mark Wilson)
