This connected bracelet wants to de-stress you one insight at a time
London startup Vinaya has redesigned its notification filtering smart jewellery and launched its second gen line, Altruis X.
The collection starts at and is more focused on the wrist this time around with 10 designs to choose from including silicone, leather and metal mesh straps and colours including black, silver and rose gold. The zirconia ceramic stone – the smart bit – connects to iPhone and Android companion apps.
As well as filtering notifications so that you only get a subtle vibration when an important message or alert comes through, Vinaya has added step and sleep tracking to the bracelet.
Read this: How Vinaya is trying to build an emotional AI coach
The Altruis X app, which you can use without the wearable, is the really clever bit. It is built to offer insights as to how you can make lifestyle changes by matching up step and sleep data with info pulled in from your phone.
So the app aims to tell you when is best to meditate or why you’re distracting yourself with your phone *again*.

It’s very much working towards the in-app life coach Vinaya’s co-founder Kate Unsworth described to us when she launched the Zenta biometric bracelet on Indiegogo. This more technologically advanced wearable, with a focus on stress and emotion tracking, is due to ship in spring 2017.
Back to the Altruis X app and there’s also meditation exercises, guided breathing and ‘intention setting tools’ – which sounds like holistic to-do lists to us – emphasising the wellbeing and mental health elements over straight fitness goals.
“Both Altruis X and Zenta go beyond that of what’s out there in the wearable space,” said Unsworth. “Consumers are starting to demand products that can help improve their wellbeing beyond that of activity and step tracking.”
The stone itself is splashproof, though careful which straps you’re getting wet, and has a battery life of up to 15 days – slightly less than the month you can get out of the first gen jewellery. It charges via USB and has capacitive touch controls.
We’ve received an Altruis X for testing so look out for a review on the site soon. On first impressions, it’s quite a bit smaller and certainly more street/sporty in style than the original, elegant Altruis rings and pendants. Still, it’s a more minimalist version of what we’re seeing from the likes of Fossil and Misfit.
The Altruis X range costs from to depending which style you go for. It’s available to buy online now with bricks-and-mortar retail partners including Harvey Nichols and Browns.
