I set reminders on my cellphone on a regular basis, and I nonetheless miss about half of them. Not as a result of they don’t go off. They do. It’s that they go off in the identical place as the whole lot else, so a notice about calling the plumber finally ends up sitting underneath two group chats and a transport replace, and I clear the lot with out studying it.
That was on my thoughts after I got here throughout Luna on Kickstarter. It’s a small metal pendant formed like a crescent moon, and its principal trick is tapping you on the chest when one thing you requested to recollect comes due. I used to be curious, and slightly skeptical, so I spent a while going by the marketing campaign, the specs and the founders’ updates to see what it’s and isn’t.
The corporate behind it’s Moonshot, a three-person startup from San Francisco that’s a part of Y Combinator. Luna is 27 mm extensive, which places it near the dimensions of 1 / 4.
The way it works
The thought is fairly easy. You put on Luna on a series, and it connects to your cellphone over Bluetooth. If you wish to bear in mind one thing, you say it out loud. Two mics within the pendant decide up your voice and cross it to Samantha, Moonshot’s app in your cellphone.
Later, when the reminder is due, a small motor within the pendant faucets you. The stone face lights up. When you have earbuds in, you hear what the reminder is about. If not, your cellphone says it.
That’s kind of it. There’s no display screen on Luna, and I feel that’s the half that makes it attention-grabbing. When my cellphone buzzes, I don’t know if it’s necessary till I look, and looking out is the place my consideration goes sideways. With Luna, the faucet solely ever means one factor. Whether or not that’s sufficient to vary a behavior is as much as the particular person carrying it, however the logic is smart to me.
Moonshot says the faucet is supposed to be felt solely by the wearer. I can see that working at a dinner desk or in a gathering, the place checking your cellphone on occasion will get seen.
What it seems to be like
That is the place Luna doesn’t appear to be most AI wearables. Quite a lot of them are clips or pins that appear to be tech, and you’ll inform from throughout the room. Luna seems to be like a necklace.
The case is 316L stainless-steel, polished on the perimeters and brushed on the again, and the design goal is about 6 mm thick. The face is an opal-white stone that lets mild by, so the glow comes out smooth as an alternative of sharp. It hangs on a 50 cm metal chain with a 5 cm extender.
Whether or not you’d put on a moon day by day is private. I like the way it seems to be. Some folks gained’t, and that’s tremendous. It’s nonetheless a chunk of knickknack first, so style issues extra right here than it does with, say, earbuds.
The primary 300 backers can have a private aim engraved on the again, which Moonshot calls your “moonshot.” It’s a candy thought, if a bit on the sentimental aspect.
Concerning the microphones
I wouldn’t put on something with microphones close to my face with out realizing how they’re dealt with, so I checked out this half carefully.
Luna has no digital camera. You flip the mics off by tapping the pendant twice (a movement sensor picks it up), and twice once more to show them again on. The app can do it too. Moonshot has stated it’s nonetheless ending this double-tap characteristic on its prototypes.
When the mics are on, your voice goes over an encrypted Bluetooth connection to the app after which to Samantha’s servers. The corporate says it doesn’t promote anybody’s knowledge. Transcripts, and the notes Samantha makes from them, are saved till you delete your account.
The mics are TDK T5838 components, every set in its personal sealed chamber. That’s meant to assist with material noise, which looks like the apparent drawback for one thing worn on a series.
The app, and what it prices
Luna doesn’t run any AI by itself. Its firmware covers the faucet, the sunshine and the mute, and that’s it. The remaining occurs in Samantha, which makes use of fashions from OpenAI and Anthropic, with ElevenLabs dealing with speech and voice.
So that you want your cellphone close by, with an web connection, for Luna to do something. I don’t see that as a dealbreaker, nevertheless it’s value being clear about. Luna works extra like an adjunct for an app than a standalone machine.
The app can be a separate price. No Kickstarter reward contains it. It’s free for six months. After that the core options keep free, and Premium is $20 a month or $200 a yr. Moonshot is upfront about this on the marketing campaign web page, which I recognize, however should you have been planning on Premium, add that to the value of the pendant earlier than you resolve.
Battery and charging
There’s a 35 mAh battery inside. On the present prototypes, Moonshot says it lasts slightly over two days, relying on how lengthy the mics keep on. The corporate is aiming for 3.
Two days means charging each different night time. That’s much like numerous smartwatches, so most individuals who already put on one gained’t discover it an enormous change.
It expenses in a small field with an evening sky printed contained in the lid. You set the pendant on three steel contacts and plug the field in over USB-C. Kickstarter backers additionally get a braided cable.
On water, Moonshot is designing Luna for splash and sweat resistance. Rain and exercises, then, however I’d take it off earlier than a bathe or a swim.
Who’s making it
Ojas Kandhare, the CEO, was finding out to develop into a coronary heart surgeon earlier than he left premed to begin corporations. He and his co-founders, Tario and Dylan, say they went by 26 failed ventures earlier than one labored. After that they constructed an app referred to as OpenTrade that reached 225,000 weekly customers, then shut it down as a result of none of them used it.
They are saying Luna got here from desirous to make one thing they’d use themselves. That’s straightforward to say. Nonetheless, the backstory is unusually candid for a crowdfunding web page.
That is their first {hardware} product, and so they don’t cover that. In response to the marketing campaign, the primary metal circumstances and stone faces have been made in October, the circuit board is working, and the app can already make prototype electronics faucet and glow. FCC certification and Bluetooth qualification are deliberate for January 2027. Delivery is estimated for February 2027, with the engraved models first.
The dangers part is extra detailed than most I learn. It lists issues like Bluetooth vary by metal, how the mics do underneath garments, the ultimate mild patterns and battery life. The workforce additionally guarantees a construct replace with photographs each Friday till transport.
Pricing
Moonshot plans to promote Luna for $599 as soon as it’s in shops. On Kickstarter, the engraved model is $389 for individuals who paid a $1 reservation, and $399 for the primary 300 backers in any other case. An everyday Luna with out engraving is $449, and two price $700. There’s additionally an eight-pack for $2,999 and a $2,500 tier that features dinner with the founders in San Francisco.
Each comes with the charging field, the chain and a two-year guarantee. Delivery and taxes are added after the marketing campaign.
On the time of writing, the marketing campaign has raised $52,513 from 129 backers. The aim was $10,000. It runs till December 10, 2026.
Who it’s for
I feel Luna makes essentially the most sense for individuals who wish to use their cellphone much less however nonetheless have numerous small issues to maintain monitor of. Mother and father come to thoughts. So do individuals who spend most of their day in conferences or on their ft.
It’s not attempting to be a health tracker, a digital camera or a full voice assistant, so in order for you a kind of, this isn’t it.
For me, the enchantment is how little it does. It faucets, it glows, it tells you what you requested to be instructed, after which it leaves you alone. There’s the app subscription to consider, and it’s a primary product from a younger workforce. However should you’ve ever cleared a reminder with out studying it, the concept behind Luna will most likely make sense to you.
