Apollo Wearable
Clip design: Polycarbonate plastic | Band design: Neoprene with polyester overlays | Connectivity: Bluetooth BLE 5.0 | Warranty: 1 year | Haptics: Designed by Lofelt
Best for:
- Those who feel touch therapy can benefit their mental health
- Those who need a little extra help with their sleep
Skip if:
- You want something that looks sleek
- You want to swap out the clip and band frequently
The Apollo Wearable: Design
The Apollo Wearable features a really clunky, chunky design—when I wore it on my ankle at bedtime, my husband joked that I looked like I was under house arrest with an ankle monitor. It comes with an elastic band and a clip that locks on to the device, so you can choose to wear it like a bracelet or attach it to your clothing.
I tried both. Due to its size, I found it much easier and more convenient to clip it on to my bra strap and forget about it. At night, I tried wearing the band on both my wrist and ankle to get a sense of both, though.
The Apollo Wearable’s “rose-colored” clip can be used on the grey band or the white clip, both of which are included in the box.
The band for my Apollo Wearable is grey, too, and there aren’t any other colors or fun designs. It and the included band come in two different colors: Stealth and Rose. I received the Rose and, to me, it looked more silver than pink. I would have loved to have seen some fun options that look less… medical.
As for swapping between the two, the design isn’t fully manifested to make that task easy. I had to shove the strap through the grip with force each time I wanted to wear it as a band. It makes sense, because if it’s too loose it won’t keep the strap secure. But, boy, was it a pain.
The Apollo Wearable: Performance
Based on over a decade of research featuring more than a dozen clinical trials, and in partnership with the Oura Ring, the Apollo has science-backed findings. The device itself uses haptics by Lofelt to “buzz” against your skin, stimulating your nerves to respond accordingly to boost your mood, calm you down and more. Press the only two buttons on its side twice to play or pause; press once only and you can adjust the haptics’ intensity.
Here’s where it gets tricky: It works, but I couldn’t tell if it was a placebo effect or not. So, I asked Dr. Anna Barbieri, M.D., FACOG; assistant clinical professor in the Raquel and Jaime Gilinski Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York; for insight into the science behind the Wearable. At its core, “the idea is that touch at a certain frequency the same way can help with a variety of things, including emotional regulation, sleep perception, stress, anxiety and so forth,” she says, adding that the theory has been around for some time. In fact, she cites the older traditions of tapping, in which “you’re literally tapped on certain acupoints at a certain rhythm” to relieve stress in the moment.
Scientifically, “the nervous system is divided into two parts: the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system. The parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for the relaxation response,” Barbieri explains. If that’s too much science, in short: It’s what the Apollo Wearable taps into. I’m inclined, after two weeks, to believe in the science, simply because the moods in the Apollo app changed my moods and energy levels quickly and effectively.
The Apollo Wearable only has two buttons to control intensity as well as play/pause its haptics.
The app features a series of modes: “Energy,” “Social,” “Focus,” “Recover,” “Calm,” “Unwind” and “Fall Asleep.” The Apollo Wearable takes a minute to connect via Bluetooth every time you open the app, but once it does, you can finagle the device to your preferences. While you can decide how long you’re wearing the device, I was told it works best if you wear it for at least three hours both day and at night for a total of six hours per day. Throughout my work day, I tried “Focus” for when I needed to jump in to deep work, “Social” for when I took briefings and during staff meetings, and “Calm” for when I felt stressed.
The grey band features a Velcro clip to keep it in place on your wrist.
Each time, I felt an immediate change that positively coincided with the mode I chose. Combined with the power of my morning cup of coffee, my days saw a massive productivity increase with “Focus” on for an hour. During my afternoon meetings, I felt more alert and open to chatting when I had the “Social” setting on. The “Energy” preset felt like a game-changer, especially when I felt the effects of my coffee wear off mid-afternoon. It was like a tiny jolt of energy, just enough to make me feel as if I wasn’t about to snooze at my desk.
But there’s a minor catch. The Apollo Wearable’s intensity needs to be calibrated to the right setting. If it’s too high, it’s distracting. Set it too low, and it’s not going to be as effective. It should blend into your background after a couple of minutes. It took a little time to find the sweet spot, and it differs with each mode, but it’s essential to make sure that it’s working as it should.
By far, the most useful feature was the “Fall Asleep” mode. It’s not exactly comfortable to wear on my bony ankle at night so I ended up swapping it back to my wrist or being clipped to my pajamas. But it absolutely worked. I’m normally a good sleeper, but recently I’m waking up in the middle of the night. Sometimes it’s my cat Hobbes demanding attention at 5 a.m. or maybe it’s thoughts of the massive home renovation I’m currently undergoing. The Apollo Wearable helped me reset my sleep and get a full night’s rest without waking up.
Choose between different moods for minor mood boosts, based on your needs.
There’s also an AI-based sleep feature, available with a subscription, called “SmartVibes For Sleep,” which can sense if you’re restless and close to waking up. When this happens, the Apollo Wearable registers your waking patterns and plays a series of vibes to help lull you back to sleep. This is why it’s essential to get your correct intensity setting when you’re heading to bed. While I did feel it worked for my sleep needs, I’m not sure I would personally pay for the subscription. But as new AI features roll out, I expect that verdict might change.
The Apollo Wearable’s entire performance felt like sorcery, to the point where I kept talking about it to my husband and sharing it with my social circles. It just made that much of a difference in my life, especially when I began feeling stressed at Lowe’s over choosing paint for a bedroom. It definitely helped take the edge off of my stress levels.
But again, whether or not it was a placebo effect is to be determined. Based on my conversation with Barbieri, there is science-backed data which supports Apollo Neuro’s claims. She also cautioned about potential placebo, though, which “can be massive. Something could help us just because we believe it’s going to help us. When we’re talking about something as innocuous as a band on your wrist, I think that if it helps, it’s great. The downside of it, aside from its cost, is minimal.” So, take that information how you will.
I also want to caution those who think this device may be a catch-all. While I’m not a medical expert, I don’t believe it can magically cure all my stress levels or get me to snooze through the entire night consistently. But it can serve as one helpful tool in my toolbox to assist me with accomplishing these goals.
The Apollo Wearable: Battery Life
The battery life of the Apollo Wearable depends on how intense your vibes are. If you’re blasting it at 100%, it’s still going to last you a while, as the battery life drops around 15% an hour based on my testing. During my testing, running at around 15% to 25% nearly every time, I could squeeze out a couple of days’ worth of battery life.
One of my few gripes: It uses Micro-USB for charging.
I saw the largest battery drops overnight, but that was because I was using “SmartVibes For Sleep” until morning or “Fall Asleep” for its maximum two-hour run. In general, I got two to three days of battery life on a single charge. It uses a micro-USB port for charging, which I found a little old-school.
The Apollo Wearable: Verdict
While some people may respond negatively to touch therapy, those who find they respond well will find the Apollo Wearable a solid choice. Sure, it doesn’t come with a very sleek appearance, but I do expect there to be other band options and colors in the future to take some of that sting off. For $350, is it worth it? That depends on whether or not you feel it’s likely to benefit you.
Personally, I found it to be helpful, providing me with more focus and sleep, and keeping me calm during stressful moments. And if you’re looking for a more mindful way to stay in tune with your emotions, it’s worth checking out. As a first-gen, it’s going to have some quirks, like the Micro-USB port, for example. But I plan on keeping this as a go-to emotional assistant in the future.
My Expertise
I’m the consumer tech and electronics editor at Forbes Vetted, where I spearhead all coverage, and have been for nearly a year. I’ve been in the consumer tech space since 2019 when I started at Lifewire; one of my first assignments was reviewing a Skagen smartwatch. Since then, I’ve tested dozens of wearables, from the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro to a VR/AR laptop (and it’s exactly what it sounds like).
When I’m not covering wearables, you can find me in front a TV testing out the latest launches in home entertainment including the Samsung S95C TV, trying out new gaming equipment or reading up on the latest consumer tech news and trends.
How I Tested The Apollo Wearable
In addition to interviewing the CEO of Apollo Neuro, Kathryn Fantauzzi, about the device, I tested the Apollo Wearable for two weeks, wearing it most of the day and using different presets. I took into account my moods before, during and after using the Wearable. Additionally, I logged what I was doing at the time to see whether my mood changes lined up with the Wearable’s presets. I also made sure to wear it for multiple hours at a time, averaging more than six hours on any given day.
I set the device to its full potential and left it on at 100% intensity for an hour, noting its battery life before and after. I also wore the device in different spots, including my wrist, my shirt collar, my ankle and clipped to my bra to see how it changed the outcome in different areas.
