December 9, 2022
I own an Ember mug. Which means I own a $100 mug with a built-in heating element that I can set with an app on my phone. Yes, the mug has an app. And firmware!
Techmoan published a review of the mug a year or two ago. He wasn't particularly negative about it, it does what it says on the box after all, but he was pretty put out about the whole app-and-firmware thing. Which is completely reasonable.
I saw that video and thought the mug was an interesting concept, but the whole "ugh, it's got an app" deal kinda took over my thought process on it. I probably forgot all about it within a day of watching that video.
A while later I saw James Hoffman's review of the same mug, even though his video is older. And he also hit on the app and firmware. This is ridiculous, he said. And he's right. But he also couldn't help but love that stupid overpriced mug.
One of the last things he said about it — if you work at a desk and are distracted by things this may be the mug for you — hit home for me. I do work at a desk, and I am frequently distracted by things. And his whole "this is ridiculous bit" was more "this is silly and unnecessary, and slightly amusing" instead of "this is a sign of the decline of humanity" which kind of reformulated my thinking about it. After all, it's not like you're going to update the firmware on a mug every week, right? You can ignore that part.
So I bought one. And it's great. I can leave my coffee on my desk for an hour and it's still the right temperature. Go for a walk at lunch, it's ready to drink when I get back. It has an LED so I know when it's the temperature I want. It absolutely is ridiculous. And that's OK. Maybe even part of the charm.
My stupid little mug with its firmware is probably the favorite thing of mine that I've bought in the past year, because it's a stupid little mug. And I like hot coffee. And all because I saw a review of it that comes from a different mindset than others that led me to try it instead of dismissing it outright.
