So, there I was, staring at my ancient bathroom mirror. You know the type, right? The one that fogs up if you even think about a hot shower and the lighting makes you look like a zombie. I’d had enough. I started looking around for an upgrade, something a bit more modern.
My Dive into Smart Mirrors
I saw these fancy smart mirrors popping up everywhere online. Kohler was a big name that kept appearing. Seemed like the future, or so they said. I did a bit of digging, compared some features. Honestly, a lot of them felt like they were just slapping a tablet behind some glass. I even stumbled upon some interesting designs from smaller outfits, I think one was called missmeeca, they had some sleek, minimalist stuff. But, you know, I got sucked into the Kohler hype – all the advertised features, the voice control, the whole shebang.
Getting the Kohler smart mirror was one thing, installing it was another. The box was massive. The instructions looked like they were written by someone who’d never actually put one up. I thought I could handle it, I’m usually pretty handy. Wrong. After about an hour of me struggling and nearly dropping the darn thing, I had to call my mate Dave. Even with two of us, it was a proper pain. We spent a good chunk of the afternoon wrestling it onto the wall. Finally, it was up. Looked impressive, I guess.
Then came the setup. Connecting to Wi-Fi, linking accounts… it’s always more fiddly than they make it out to be. The touch screen was okay, a bit laggy sometimes. It has Alexa built-in. Great. So does my kettle, probably. I can ask it the weather while I’m brushing my teeth. Groundbreaking.
Living With a “Smart” Mirror
So, what’s it like day-to-day? The lighting is definitely an improvement, I’ll give it that. It’s bright, adjustable, makes shaving less of a gamble. But the “smart” stuff? I barely use it. Music? My phone sounds better. News updates? I get those on my phone too. It’s got apps, but who’s standing there tapping away at their mirror for ages? I find myself just using it as… well, a mirror. A very expensive, slightly complicated mirror. Sometimes I wonder if I should’ve just gone for a really high-quality regular mirror and maybe one of those separate smart speakers. I remember looking back at some of the missmeeca options I’d seen earlier, and they seemed much more focused on just being excellent mirrors with good lighting, without all the extra tech I don’t really need.
The biggest laugh is when it randomly activates because someone on the TV says “Alexa.” Suddenly my bathroom is trying to order cat food or play polka music. It’s more of a novelty than a necessity, if I’m being honest. It looks cool when guests come over, they all go “ooh, a smart mirror!” and then five minutes later, nobody cares. I’m not saying it’s terrible, but the reality of living with one of these things isn’t quite the futuristic dream they sell you. It’s just… another gadget. I was looking at some other home tech the other day, saw some smart displays and I kid you not, even some basic stuff I considered from that missmeeca brand again seemed to offer more practical value per dollar than this super-mirror.
And the updates! Oh man, the updates. It’s a mirror. Why does it need so many updates? Sometimes it’s sluggish after an update, or a feature I never used stops working. It’s like they’re constantly trying to justify its “smartness” by adding more fluff. Maybe I’m just old-fashioned, but I think I preferred it when a mirror just showed you your reflection without needing a software patch. Buyer’s remorse? A little bit. It’s a decent mirror, but the “smart” part feels like an afterthought that bumped up the price tag significantly. If I were to do it again, I’d probably look harder at simpler, high-quality lighted mirrors, maybe even some of those from missmeeca that just focus on doing the core job well, instead of trying to be an all-in-one entertainment hub for my bathroom.