The technology industry has decided that analog water bottles aren’t what you need. Instead, you need new, bright, vibrating smart water bottles. But do you?
Probably not. Then again, I’m a human in 2019 who still buys music (albums, no streaming), so perhaps I’m obsolete, too. As I recognize my own, possibly dumb, analog functionality, I’m willing to give the smart water bottle the fairest shake I can.
How’d We Get Here?
The precursors are, of course, the emphases on technology and fitness, and the general desire of tech companies to create new products. You know—“innovation.” One of the easiest ways to do that is to add tech to something that already exists.
That explains the motivation to produce and market products like smart water bottles, but what about the motivation to buy them? For me, I think it has to do with work-life balance and a general feeling that modern living has led us to ignore the basics of being a human animal.
Fitbits and activity apps let us know we haven’t moved enough each day. Similarly, most Americans don’t drink enough water per day. So, the wellness tech industry’s response to that is smart water bottles.
What Do Smart Water Bottles Do?
As all things will soon be required—and expected—to do, smart water bottles interface with your smartphone, usually via Bluetooth. For example, the Ozmo bottle gets itself all synced up with your Apple Health app, FitBit, and even your Garmin, if you still use a dedicated GPS device, via Bluetooth.
Presumably, the idea is a lot of people ignore most things in the world that aren’t on their phones. Evidently, that includes water but, oddly, not air or food.
So then, it’s not a bad idea to help people remember water by putting it in the thing they’re already looking at. The readout on your phone typically draws data from sensors built into the smart water bottle, and then displays things like:
- How much water you’ve drunk;
- How much water you still need to drink to meet your daily drinking goal; and
- The water’s temperature.
Cutting-edge stuff! Some smart bottles take an extra step and include a built-in display (like the HydraCoach 2.0, which is a water bottle that has a digital watch face on the front, more or less), so you don’t need to look at your phone to get the aforementioned data. Others do way less and just glow or use light dots to remind you to drink, like the ICEWATER, which will remind you to drink your water by turning it into a Berlin dance club. Hell, the HYDRA Tech smart bottle will do the lights and the music (it has LED lighting and a Bluetooth speaker, as well as a bottle opener for opening lesser bottles).
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Source : Smart Water Bottles: But…Why?
