Some of the new products at CES 2025 are more like a cruel joke, and the In Case of Death bundle is a prime example of this. It includes a tablet computer that is deliberately disabled in the event of the owner’s death.
Image source: zugucase.com
The original product was presented by Zugu. The kit includes an 11-inch Apple iPad, a case, a smart ring and an app. In the event of the death of the owner, the tablet computer is specifically disabled. “If the user’s heart suddenly stops beating and their body temperature and blood oxygen levels drop sharply, the smart ring understands that its owner has died and sends a signal to the In Case of Death app to activate the “death protection” selected by the user during registration in the application and its configuration,” the manufacturer said about the system’s operation scheme.
The system knows when the wearer removes the ring from their finger, so it won’t destroy the iPad every time the ring needs charging. When the system detects that the owner has died, it runs one or more scenarios: deleting the browser with all its history, deleting all data on the tablet, playing a video on a loop (Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” music video), or sending a publication to social network X – its standard version is an example of black humor. The cost of the kit is $1500.