iPolish brings color-changing press-on smart nails to CES

1 day ago7 min read

Remember that scene in the original *Total Recall* where the Rekall receptionist casually taps a digital pen to shift her nail polish from one shade to another? For decades, that moment existed purely as a slick piece of sci-fi set dressing, a visual shorthand for a future just out of reach. Fast forward to CES 2026, and the future has finally arrived, not with a bang, but with a quiet, five-second electric charge.iPolish, a startup that feels like it was dreamed up in a design sprint between a fashion editor and a hardware engineer, has unveiled press-on acrylic nails that change color on command. It’s a fascinating collision of beauty tech and wearable computing, a tiny canvas for personal expression that speaks to a broader trend: our interfaces are becoming not just more intuitive, but more intimately personal and aesthetically integrated.The core experience is deceptively simple. A charging wand, which connects to your smartphone via an app, holds the palette.You select a hue—from a library of 400 colors—place the tip of your press-on nail into the wand, and a short, imperceptible jolt of electricity triggers a transformation. The company is coy about the precise electrochemical ‘shenanigans’ under the glossy surface, but the effect is pure magic.It’s a closed-loop system of color, a dynamic accessory that finally breaks the weeks-long commitment of a salon gel manicure. For anyone who’s ever felt their vibrant crimson nails clash with a pastel outfit the day after an appointment, this is liberation.The business model is as clever as the tech. A $95 starter kit gets you two full sets in different shapes—a shorter Ballerina and a longer Squoval—with the crucial caveat that you cannot file or shape them without breaking the internal hardware.This is fashion with defined parameters, a lesson in designing within constraints. Individual replacement nails will cost $6.50, a figure that, when compared to the recurring expense of professional manicures, positions iPolish not as a luxury splurge but as a potentially savvy investment in sartorial flexibility. Yet, the real story here isn’t just about convenience or cost.It’s about the evolution of wearables from bulky, functional devices to seamless, decorative integrations. We’ve watched smartwatches become fashion statements and fitness trackers morph into jewelry.iPolish pushes this frontier further, onto the very tips of our fingers, one of the most viewed and expressive parts of our bodies. It asks a compelling question: what if your next tech upgrade wasn’t a gadget you carry, but an accessory you wear? The implications ripple out.

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#smart nails

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#wearable tech

#press-on nails

#iPolish

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