Away’s New Series 3 Luggage Plays It Safe—That’s the Point
Away has launched its Series 3 luggage, focusing on durability and traditional design rather than the 'smart' features that defined its earlier products. The company has removed battery components and prioritized mechanical improvements like wheels and handles.
Why it matters
This shift reflects a broader trend in consumer goods where companies are moving away from 'gimmicky' tech integrations to focus on core product reliability.
A decade later, Away is launching the Series 3—its third generation. The battery is gone, but the features that attracted and retained a loyal following remain, with a heavy focus on invisible tech.
“We didn’t like to be called ‘smart luggage’,” Sarah Amidi, Away’s senior vice president of Brand, tells WIRED at the company’s design studio in New York City’s SoHo district. When the first Carry On was conceived, charging solutions weren’t as ubiquitous as they are today, Amidi says, which created a unique travel pain point for Away to tackle. It may have seemed gimmicky, but a quickly accessible USB port to charge a phone made sense. The ejectable design was forward-thinking, given evolving regulations around traveling with batteries.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in