When you hear of connected devices, you would mostly think about mobile phones used to control the temperature or air conditioning around the house, unlocking doors without keys, or home security cameras broadcasting a security feed on any device.
The Simplehuman Wide-View Sensor Mirror Pro is trying to break away from this rather limited idea. It shows us that there is something more to connectivity than just your household appliances being able to function without you even touching them.
It shows you how connectivity can be applied to beauty and fashion. But in what way?
How does the Simplehuman Wide-View Sensor Mirror Pro work?
The Simplehuman Wide-View Sensor Mirror Pro is a three-fold mirror that senses when you are in front of it. The sensors “see” your face and the mirror automatically lights up to mimic natural sunlight so that you can do your makeup with the best lighting possible.
You can be sure that you are using the right tones on your skin and that you will look beautiful and flawless even when you go to places in any kind of lighting condition. These sensors keep the lights on for as long as you are in front of the mirror, so you can take your time.
You can see your face in three different angles. The mirrors are big, measuring more than 20 inches wide and more than 16 inches tall. It stands on a stainless steel flexible base.
The Simplehuman Wide-View Sensor Mirror Pro has a pair of frosted-glass LED strips that border the sides of the center panel. When activated, these LED strips give off a natural daylight color.
More than that, the Simplehuman Wide-View Sensor Mirror Pro has a palette of more than 50,000 color variations. That means that it can mimic lighting conditions in a lot of different places and environments such as restaurants, yoga studios, gym, or dinner by candlelight.
You can use the mobile app to capture light settings automatically or choose from any one of the settings already included in the app. Going to the office? Or having a romantic date? You can be sure that you have the perfect makeup on.
You need to charge the mirror but a single charge would last you up to three weeks. All you need to do is to connect the USB adapter, wait for it to fully charge, and then hide the plug away.
The Simplehuman Wide-View Sensor Mirror Pro is quite heavy. It weighs close to 8 pounds and is made of glass and stainless steel. It is certainly beautiful and would make a wonderful addition to your vanity table.
The mobile app
The Simplehuman Order Liners, Manage Mirror mobile app (yes, it’s quite a mouthful!) is available free for download for both Android and iOS devices.
You would need the mobile app to pair the mirror with your smartphone. Turn off the mirror and do a long press to power it back on. The mirror will try to find your device. Just follow the instructions on the app to easily pair the two.
The mobile app has three sections: Sensor Settings, Alarm, and Light Modes.
Light modes. The mobile app is how you control the lighting on the mirror, plus, as mentioned above, it can capture the light settings when you take a selfie.
So if you want to look good at the office, all you need to do is to take a selfie while at work. The app will read your selfie and create a light setting that closely mimics the lighting environment at your office.
The mobile app already has five preset settings such as daylight, candlelight, or overcast. But the ability to customize light settings easily by capturing a selfie is what makes the mirror very useful. Not all offices have harsh fluorescent lighting, for instance.
Alarm. You can use the app to set an alarm. When the alarm goes off, the lights on your mirror will flash, letting you know that the time is up. This is very useful if you need to leave at a certain time and you do not want to run late for work while you do your makeup. You can also use the countdown timer.
Sensor settings. The app can control the sensor’s settings, including how long before the LED lights turn itself off when you move away from the mirror.
What could be better?
Yes, the Sensor Mirror is a costly addition for the bedroom, but with girls spending a fortune on their makeup, getting the look right is just as part of an evening as the dress or shoes. Helping them achieve that look would bring great kudos to the guy who gets their girl a present like this.
For a mirror that aims to help you do your makeup easily, the Simplehuman Wide-View Sensor Mirror Pro does not have any magnification. If you like making elaborate details with your eyeliner, then you would find it difficult to use just the mirror to do that.
You can, however, get another mirror that provides you with 5x or 10x magnification from the same company but that would mean spending another $200 to $250 (For the latest prices and discounts, check here) for another sensor mirror.
Also considering its price, you cannot take the Simplehuman Wide-View Sensor Mirror Pro with you because of its weight and because the mirror is made of fragile glass. That means that you cannot lug it around when you go on vacation, so forget about touch ups when you are out of the house.
Furthermore, you cannot import photos into the app and get lighting optimizations from these photos.
That means that you would need to go to the venue first and snap a selfie using the mobile app to get its lighting profile stored into your phone, rather than loading a photo from the venue’s Web site or some other source, which would have been more convenient.
As with any connected product, some users might have trouble connecting their iOS device to it, but these can be sorted out. A few people also have trouble with the sensor, which is usually down to the product being too far away, again nothing that can’t be resolved easily.
Alternatives to the Simplehuman Wide-View Sensor Mirror Pro
Simplehuman Wide-View Sensor Mirror Pro is one-of-a-kind. It positions itself more as a high technology vanity mirror than anything else. As a smart mirror, however, it does have some competition.
For one, you have the VanityVision Smart Mirror. VanityVision acts like a regular mirror but you can display a variety of information on it. Think of it as an oversized iPad that you can use as a mirror at the same time.
You can do your makeup while also checking stock quotes, perusing the weather report, or even read the news.
You can have a mirror manufactured according to your own specifications, and one that measures roughly the same as the Simplehuman Wide-View Sensor Mirror Pro (20 inches x 16 inches) (see the latest price here).
Another alternative is also in the works. It is called the Selfiemirror, and creator Karina Shemyakina is trying to get it funded on IndieGogo. The Selfiemirror does more than just allow you to put your makeup on, but it also doubles as a hidden security camera because it has a built-in HD camera.
It can also play audio files so you can listen to your favorite music with the mirror. You can even make Skype calls using the mirror. Like the VanityVision Smart Mirror, you can also display information on the mirror’s face.
A small Selfiemirror measuring 21.65 inches x 36.81 inches is expected to cost $160 Â when it does come out. No word on when it would be available in the market at this time.
Both of these alternatives offer more features than the Simplehuman Wide-View Sensor Mirror Pro, but they have a more budget-friendly price tag.
If you still want the Simplehuman Wide-View Sensor Mirror Pro but do not want to spend too much money, another set of options is composed of other sensor mirror models sold by the same company.
You have the 8″ Sensor Mirror Pro with as much as 10x magnification, the 8″ Sensor Mirror, the 6.5″ Sensor Mirror, the 5″ sensor mirror, and the 8″ Wall Mount Sensor Mirror.
The final verdict
The Simplehuman Wide-View Sensor Mirror Pro is a unique product in that it brings together the world of connected devices and the world of beauty. It is definitely one of the few connected devices out there.
The Simplehuman Wide-View Sensor Mirror Pro has a very specific target market in mind: those who love makeup. It also has a very interesting proposition for businesses such as beauty salons and makeup artists.
Makeup professionals can use the mirror to make sure that they give their customers the best service.
They can even go to popular venues and take a selfie to get that venue’s lighting environment so that they can optimize the blend of colors for their customers. That could easily mean a more beautiful bride on her wedding day without having to guess.
The Simplehuman Wide-View Sensor Mirror Pro does look beautiful with lots of reflective surfaces and good quality material. Plus, it imitates lighting environments accurately enough.
However, the features being offered are quite few and targeted to a specific purpose. This means that apart from its intended market: makeup enthusiasts, few people would find good use for the mirror. What makes things worse is its hefty price tag For the latest prices and discounts, check here.
If you are like most people and think that makeup is just makeup and if you do couldn’t care less about contours and highlights on your face, then you might want to wait for other smart mirrors that bring more features to the table at a price that your wallets would love. Or you might opt for the more affordable models from the same manufacturer.
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