![]() In terms of setup, that's really it you can wait for the mug to finish charging, but if you'll be placing it on the charging coaster as you drink, the initial setup process is shortened even further. Using the Ember iOS app, I searched for and found the mug, paired it, named it, and customized its front-facing LED color. Setup is largely a breeze with Ember's mugs all I had to do was power on the Ceramic Mug, plug in the charging coaster to the included AC adapter with a barrel plug, and set the mug on it to fuel it up. In that time, I've found the device to be a helpful companion for my daily cups of tea and coffee, although there are some aspects of its design that will hinder its usefulness in the long run. I've had the chance to test the Ceramic Mug over the last few weeks, following an announcement that Ember's mugs now calculate your approximate caffeine intake and sync it to Apple's Health app, and are now being sold in Apple stores. Ember also sells the Ceramic Mug, which provides all of the same benefits of the Travel Mug but in a size and shape that's aimed for use in your home or at your office. Every time I walked from one room to another, I got a notification asking me to reconnect the mug and app.Ember first began selling its temperature control Travel Mug back in 2015, allowing customers to personally control the temperature of their favorite hot beverage from their smartphone, and keep the drink hot for as long as an hour when it wasn't sitting on a charging pad. VSITOO S3 Pro Temperature Control Smart Mug with Sliding Lid : This performed about as well as the Ember, but users could only pick temperatures in increments of nine and the app wasn’t as easy to use as Ember’s.But the design choices felt strange: for some reason, it only worked off the charger, and displayed a bright red light to indicate that coffee was at an ideal drinking temperature, but didn't allow users to control the temperature, nor did it display the temperature. Glowstone Smart Mug 2 : This most resembled an actual mug and was the only mug that was dishwasher-safe.It was a little hard to deduce the different flashing colors, but the mug performed well and kept coffee tasting fresh and hot. If you have your eye on this mug specifically, you won't be disappointed by it. Ember Mug 2 : The good ol’ Ember performed just fine, but you get so many more features for a few bucks more with the Ember Travel.Most of the mugs came with a travel lid-this one did not, and, despite moving it around to tell the charger it was still in use, it went into “sleep” mode around three hours. Made of ceramic, this was one of the more attractive mugs I tested and it comes in a range of colors. OHOM Self-Heating Ceramic Mug: Like the Hurkins, the OHOM didn't have a battery and only worked on the charger.Hurkins Smug: The Hurkins performed just fine, but its indicator light was very faint, so I had trouble telling if it was on.Serious Eats / Ashley Rodriguez The Competition Usability of Any Smart Features: Were the features of the mug easy to understand? Were they intuitive? Did they perform consistently over time, or were there glitches and technical failings? If the mug had an app, I also assessed how easy it was to use.Did the mugs get hot to the touch or were they cool enough to handle? Was the handle comfortable to hold? If it came with a lid, how easy was it to take on and off and/or drink from? Usability of the Mugs: Throughout testing, I looked at the materials each mug was made of and how easy or difficult each was to use.I also considered consistency of the temperature over time-did the temperature fluctuate or stay consistent over time? Consistency Tests: I measured each temperature reading of the mug against the temperature it was set to-in general, if the mug was within +/- two degrees, it was considered accurate. ![]() If the mug offered variable temperature settings, we tested it at 145☏. Long-Hold Test: I placed each mug on its charging pad, poured eight ounces of hot coffee into each mug, and took temperature readings (using an instant-read thermometer) every half hour for four hours.5 ounces of liquid every 10 minutes, to represent sips of coffee. ![]()
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