Google, Levi's smart jacket set for fall release

Almost a year after its introduction, tech giant Google and iconic denim clothing brand Levi's have announced the release date and price for the Commuter Trucker Jacket, the first piece of garment under the companies' Project Jacquard collaboration.

At the recently concluded SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas, Levi’s global product innovation head Paul Dillinger and Advanced Technology and Projects or ATAP's Project Jacquard lead Ivan Poupyrev shared that the smart jacket's release will be pushed to fall from the initial spring target and will go for $350. The duo also held a discussion on the future of connectivity.

Looking back, the Commuter Trucker Jacket is the first commercial product adopting ATAP's Project Jacquard technology, which uses conductive fibers woven into the fabrics to enable the clothing to control smartphones. The touch-sensitive area is located on the left cuff, allowing the wearers to skip and play music, answer incoming calls and even navigate maps via a swiping or tapping movement. The smart denim jacket features customizable gesture options as well.

Being a Google product, however, it will probably not work well with iPhones.

The garment is powered by a battery so it needs to be recharged. Battery life lasts about two days, similar to most smartwatches.

Check out the video below for a demo on how the Commuter Trucker Jacket works.