This is the MICA, short for "My Intelligent Communication Accessory", Intel's first luxury smart bracelet aimed specifically at women. It looks nothing like a smartwatch but it has the guts of one.
Details are still scant — Intel says that it will reveal more in October — but here's what we do know: the MICA will provide notifications from your smartphone, push SMS messages, calendar reminders and meeting alerts on a curved, sapphire glass touchscreen display. It will also sport a 3G cellular radio, so you can use it without a smartphone paired, something that Samsung's recently unveiled Galaxy Gear S already does. And you can charge it wirelessly or via USB.
If you care about fashion, you will also be interested to know that it will come in two styles: black snakeskin and pearls, and white snakeskin and obsidian.
The device will be officially unveiled in New York at Opening Ceremony's Spring/Summer 2015 fashion show, with whom Intel has officially partnered. It will be available by the holidays at Barneys and Opening Ceremony stores at under $1,000, in line with similar jewelry from Opening Ceremony, reports CNET.
For Intel, a company that is betting its future on the wearables market, the MICA seems to be a niche accessory, which, I suspect, won't really gain any mass market traction. Then again, manufacturers are really pushing wearables into the fashion space. In June, Google started selling a fashionable version of Google Glass, which was developed with designer Diane von Furstenberg; Ralph Lauren unveiled a Polo Tech shirt on the day of the U.S. Open, with sensors knitted into the fabric to track movement; FitBit partnered with designer Tory Burch to stuff its popular fitness trackers into hinged bracelets and necklaces; and it's safe to assume that Apple's iWatch, which will be allegedly revealed next week, will be nothing less than stunning.
Intel's last wearable was a pair of fitness tracking earbuds developed with 50 Cent and SMS Audio, which will ship at less than $150 when they're released later this year.