Samsung has surprised us all by introducing a new hands-free way to interact with a smartphone. The "Shortcut Sneaker", as noted by Sam Mobile, allows you to perform all kinds of phone actions without actually touching your device. Instead, you just move your feet a certain way and the phone will spring to life.
Before you get too excited about controlling your phone with your shoes, keep in mind that these are incredibly limited. They're so limited that Samsung only made six pairs of them to be given away in a contest in the Netherlands to Samsung Members. That means you won't actually be able to purchase a pair, at least not from Samsung. The winners could choose to sell them if they want, though we'd expect them to go for some insane money with so few being in existence.
The sneakers allow different movements to launch different actions on a phone. They have motion sensors in the sole that track their position relative to each other. When a certain motion is triggered, it sends the signal to the phone to perform an action.
Roel van Hoff designed the look and feel of the sneaker, and they're inspired by the Milky Way. Obviously, that fits rather well with Samsung's branding.
For those in the Netherlands who are Samsung Members, the giveaway is running through July 9, 2024, so you'll definitely want to enter if the idea of performing a moonwalk to call your mom sounds appealing (and let's be honest, who wouldn't want to call their mom via moonwalk?).
If you're not in the area, make sure to check your local sneaker resale sites like StockX and eBay to see if a pair becomes available at some point. Just be ready to open your wallet.
Of course, if these end up working out, there's always a chance Samsung could mass-produce the sneakers or ones like them. In the meantime, you could always move to the Netherlands, sign up for a Samsung Members account and hope to be one of the lucky winners.
