A French company named Zhor-Tech was showing off two pairs of “smart” high heels at CES last week, adding to the list of tech companies that are trying to appeal to women with a variety of Bluetooth-connected, traditionally femme products.
The Zhor-Tech Digitsole heels come in two models: a pair with heated insoles and another pair with an adjustable, mechanical high heel. The heated insoles build on previous technology that Zhor-Tech has made under its Digitsole brand, whereas the adjustable heels are new. Both pairs also track your activity (of course!) and pair wirelessly with an app, where you can control the temperature or the height of your heels.
The adjustable high heels, which range from 1.7 inches high to 3.1 inches, are in theory a modern woman’s dream. Rather than schlepping around an extra pair of shoes — so when the high-heeled ones you feel obligated to wear start to hurt, you can slip into flats — you can just tap a virtual button and feel your heels sink closer to the earth. Sweet relief: there’s an app for that.
But the heated heals are probably much more useful. And if we’re talking aesthetics — and who isn’t when it comes to $300 high heels? — the Zhor-Tech adjustable heels aren’t exactly elegant. They look like an exaggerated tap shoe, with a chunky metal stump protruding from the heel, and feel heavier than most normal pairs of heels.