Forget coffee, you Now you can stay alert by wearing a band on your wrist which will wake you up by giving you a light nap. That’s what the eCoffee EnergyBand, a Chinese gadget that sells for just over $100, claims to do.
First released in late 2023, this product is a lightweight wearable device with two electrode pads that sit against the inner wrist. Watt Medical, a Canadian company with a Chinese subsidiary that manufactures and markets the device, claims that the mild electrical signals sent by the wristband can keep wearers alert by stimulating nerves in the brain. It is believed to have approximately the same effect as a cup of coffee, with less risk of caffeine addiction. The company says its only side effect is that your hand may feel numb from the tip of the finger to the inner wrist, so the manufacturers suggest it be worn only for three hours a day, and users can switch to wearing it on their wrist.
Had the gadget maker not recently attended a Chinese trade show, after which it suddenly went viral, the gadget would have remained in relative obscurity. “The purpose of inventing this ecoCoffee EnergyBand is not to replace coffee. Coffee is great, but it is not always suitable for the afternoon or evening. But we still need to feel refreshed during that time,” Xu Haojie, the company’s operations director, told Chinese state media Xinhua at the trade show. After wearing it, a Xinhua reporter said, “It feels like I’m being gently patted. I can feel the electric pulse.”
It instantly became an online sensation. On Chinese ecommerce websites including JD and Taobao, the device is sold out by now, with hundreds of mixed reviews from buyers. This equipment is also sold and shipped to markets across the world. The website lists its usual price at $130, with a holiday promotion going on right now that drops the price by 30 percent.
But the wristband has faced tremendous satire and skepticism on Chinese social media.
The company’s marketing presents eCoffee as a tool to increase productivity, study more, and get work done. But that message has sparked outrage among Chinese people
Towards “996” culture, the local version of grinding culture. The younger generation in China is increasingly suffering from workplace stress. Sarcastic commentators online called the wristband everything from a portable electric chair to a dog-training e-collar and a human version of the livestock whip, emphasizing how it benefits the managerial class against the wishes of the working class.