LG is the latest tech company to jump on the shoe-care bandwagon. We suspect it isn’t the largest wagon, but the company’s new Styler ShoeCare and ShoeCase, introduced at this year’s IFA conference in Berlin, might increase its floor space a little.
Sneakers are such a lucrative purchase that shopping giant eBay invested in a way to 3D scan them for sale on the platform. But few tech companies offer ways to keep sneakerheads happy in their own homes. No, those Back to the Future kicks don’t count.
Developing some Styler
LG’s new Styler ShoeCare is something a little different. It’s obviously based on the company’s Styler steam closet (or wardrobe, if you’re South African). It also shares a little in common with Lego’s minifigure display stands, if we’re being completely honest.
Shoes may be inserted into the ShoeCare unit, where they’re cleaned using a combination of steam and a zeolite filter that helps extract smells from your kicks. This makes them “…more pleasant to wear and to have around”, says LG. Cleaning a pair of shoes takes about 37 minutes, according to the company, and it all operates “…at just 35 decibels”. LG’s Styler ShoeCare uses something called a Moving Nozzle to dry out the inside of the shoes. It’s also possible to clean two completely different types of shoe at the same time.
But what’s the point of shiny, well-maintained sneakers if you can’t show them off? That’s where the modular ShoeCase units come in. These can be stacked on top of each other up to four high. LG reckons its case protects against the effects of humidity and UV light, either of which can degrade sneakers over time. Pop your sneakers into a stack of these and they should last longer.
Oh, and the ShoeCase er… cases also include movable plates that let you rotate your foot adornments 360°, for maximum presentation. Cleaning, and other functions, can be arranged via LG’s ThinQ app. The company says that other upgrades and features will also come to the app over time.
The only things missing? A price and a launch date.
