There was a lot of very interesting health and fitness technology at the IFA 2023 conference. The usual stuff like smartwatches, treadmills and the best electric bikes rubbed shoulders with slightly more esoteric items like virtual jump ropes (no real ropes), digital wellness tools like scales and smart rings, and lots of massage technology. Everywhere I looked in the Digital Health hall, I could see chairs vibrating, the best massage gunsand shelves upon shelves of gadgets that looked suspiciously like virtual reality headsets.
These visors are actually eye massagers, and there were a lot of them at this year’s conference. Using a combination of temperature, air pressure and physical pressure, they aim to relax the muscles in the face and moisten the eyes so they feel refreshed after a long day of staring at screens.
Companies like Xiaomi, Renpho, Therabody, and others are jumping into the category, assuming we’re now so glued to our screens that we need a virtual, vibrating electronic blindfold to physically separate us from our computers and phones.
It’s a newer development in massage technology, and I’m wondering if it will catch on – so I’ve tried a few, tying these things on my face and trying to relax while in a crowded convention hall.
The first one I tried was the Yumnai Eye Massager Pro, from a subsidiary of Xiaomi. It was a hard plastic lens with holes in the viewfinder so you could “see and read a book while it works,” according to the enthusiastic rep. Inside the device were a series of small nodes that hit your forehead and cheeks as you sit or lie down, while air flows towards your eyes.
That was awful. The device lacked cushioning for the face, so the hard plastic dug painfully into the bridge of my nose. I thought the rep was exaggerating a lot about being able to see through those tiny holes: you get a vague impression of what’s going on, but the effect is more of an eclipse pinhole lens than a fencer’s mask. I certainly wouldn’t get lost in a book like this. Then I turned on the machine and things really got worse: the knots felt like I was being swatted by gnomes, while the air, not the slightest controlled temperature, felt like it was actually drying my eyes instead of moistening them. I apologized and left the cabin, ironically more stressed than when I arrived.
But I didn’t give up, I tried a selection of others, going to the Renpho stand. The Eyeris Spa was a simple heating or cooling device that sits over the eyes, a bit like a rechargeable compress. Cooling can tighten the skin around your eyes, reducing bags and wrinkles, while warming improves blood flow and can help control inflammation. That’s fine, although a small towel from the fridge could probably do the same thing.
Moving on to the other Renpho products, the all-in-one eye massager headphones, I tried the most advanced model available from Renpho – the Eyeris Smart. The Eyeris Smart is a cushioned facial massager that uses physical pressure and a combination of hot and cold air currents. Built-in Bluetooth speakers let you play your own music, while you can use the matching app to customize your own 30-minute massage routine.
Immediately when I put it on I felt much more comfortable than either of the first two. I couldn’t see a thing, which felt a little intimidating in the crowded convention hall, but once the massage started, I stopped caring. The pressure inside the cushions gradually rose and fell on my forehead and cheekbones, and the gentle jets of air were cool. In the 30 seconds I used it, I swear my shoulders dropped a few inches. I was very impressed.
Renpho’s Eyeris products start at around $60/£50/AU$90, with the high-end Eyeris Smart available for $129.99 (about £100 or AU$200). Of all the crazy facial massage technology I tried at the IFA, it was the only product that could do the seemingly impossible and help me relax in front of a crowded convention hall.
On a Friday night or Sunday afternoon, after a tough week, you could do a lot worse than wearing an Eyeris for a 20-minute stress-relief session. It was surprising, innovative and genuinely good, so we had no problem recommending it for one of this year’s events. IFA Awards.
#Lot #Weird #Massage #Tech #IFA #Heres #Buy
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