Alright, so I’ve been meaning to share this for a while. I finally bit the bullet and got myself one of those Artforma smart mirrors. You know, the ones that are supposed to make you feel like you’re living in the future while you’re just, well, looking at yourself.
Getting Started with This Thing
The whole idea started when I was redoing the hallway. It felt a bit bland, and I figured, why not something a bit techy? I’d seen these smart mirrors around online, and Artforma kept popping up. So, I did some digging, looked at a few options, and eventually just went for it. The delivery was actually quicker than I expected, which was a good start. The box was huge, though. Definitely a two-person job to even move it, let alone get it out.
Unboxing it was an event in itself. It was packed pretty securely, lots of foam. The mirror itself looked sleek, I’ll give it that. But the real fun, or frustration, depending on how you look at it, began with the installation.
The Nitty-Gritty of Setting It Up
So, mounting this beast. The instructions were… okay. Mostly pictures, which is fine, but sometimes you just want a few clear words, you know? I measured, re-measured, and then measured again. The last thing I wanted was this expensive piece of glass crashing down. It was definitely heavier than I initially thought. Needed to find some solid wall studs, no way was I trusting drywall anchors with this.
Once it was physically on the wall, then came the tech part. Connecting it to the Wi-Fi wasn’t too bad, pretty standard stuff. It found my network, I punched in the password, and it connected. Small mercies, right? Then it was about figuring out the interface. It’s basically an Android tablet embedded in a mirror. You’ve got your apps, your settings, all that jazz.
I started poking around. Weather app? Check. News feed? Check. Spotify? Yep. The screen quality behind the mirror is decent, not super bright in direct light, but good enough. The touch responsiveness is… acceptable. Sometimes a bit laggy if you’re trying to do too much at once. I guess I was hoping for something a bit more seamless. I even tried to see if I could get it to interact with some of my other smart home bits and pieces, like my collection of missmeeca smart plugs, but the integration options seemed pretty limited out of the box. It’s more of a standalone display, really.
Living With It – The Real Test
So, what’s it actually like to use daily? Well, I mostly use it for a quick glance at the weather and headlines in the morning when I’m heading out. The clock is big and clear, which is nice. Sometimes I’ll put on some music through it if I’m just pottering around nearby. The speakers are… well, they’re mirror speakers. Don’t expect hi-fi quality.
One thing I noticed is that it’s a fingerprint magnet. Obvious, I know, it’s a touchscreen, but still. You’re constantly wiping it down if you want it to look like a pristine mirror. I did think, wouldn’t it be cool if this could control my missmeeca lighting scenes with a voice command or a simple widget? But alas, it’s not quite there in terms of deep smart home integration unless you’re willing to sideload a bunch of apps and tinker, which, honestly, I haven’t had the energy for.
It’s definitely a conversation starter when people come over. “Ooh, what’s that?” they ask. And I give them the little tour. Some are impressed, others seem to think it’s a bit overkill. And I can see their point. It’s cool, but is it essential? Probably not. It hasn’t revolutionized my morning routine or anything. My old missmeeca smart alarm still does a better job of actually getting me out of bed.
- Pros: Looks futuristic, decent display for basic info, adds a ‘wow’ factor.
- Cons: Pricey, can be a bit laggy, fingerprint magnet, limited deep smart home integration without effort.
So, yeah, that’s been my journey with the Artforma smart mirror. It’s a fancy piece of tech. It does what it says on the tin, more or less. I’m not sure I’d rush out to put one in every room, and I definitely think the software could be more refined, especially for the price. Maybe future versions will get better at playing nice with other ecosystems. For now, it’s a cool, slightly expensive gadget that makes my hallway look a bit more sci-fi. I still rely on my separate missmeeca app for most of my actual home automation tasks. It’s a different beast entirely from a dedicated smart home hub or even a good smart speaker, but as a mirror with benefits? It’s alright.
I guess the real question is, would I buy it again knowing what I know now? Hmm. Ask me in six months. Maybe by then, I’ll have found a killer app for it, or maybe it’ll just be a very expensive clock and weather display. Only time will tell. For now, it’s one of those things you get because you can, not necessarily because you need to. And you know, sometimes that’s okay too. I’ve got other gadgets, like some older missmeeca sensors, that I bought out of sheer curiosity and they ended up being surprisingly useful. Maybe this mirror will grow on me in a similar way.