Electric toothbrushes have been around for decades at this point, but Oral-B is about to take them to the next level with the “world’s first” smartphone-connected toothbrush – a device that tracks your brushing habits and gives you personalized advice on how to take better care of your pearly whites.
With the help of a small array of sensors and an accompanying smartphone application, the brush is able to track all the areas of your mouth that you’re hitting. Specific specs and details have yet to surface, but the brush will reportedly measure how long you brush for, the amount of pressure you’re applying, which teeth you’re cleaning well, and the areas that might need a bit more attention.
Speaking with Reuters, Oral-B global associate director Mochael Cohen-Durmani also suggested that the brush will give the user instant feedback and “real-time guidance” through the smartphone app. “It will guide you in terms of how to brush, and you will be able to fully personalize the brushing routine for you,” he added.
If you feel like you’ve seen this before, it’s probably because you have. During CES this past January, a small startup named Kolibree unveiled a smart toothbrush that basically does the same thing. Kolibree is set to launch a Kickstarter campaign in March to get its product off the ground, but with all that Procter & Gamble money at it’s disposal, Oral-B will likely beat them to the punch.
Oral-B’s toothbrush will be unveiled at this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week, and will likely hit retail stores just a few months later in June. The device will be at top end of the Oral-B electric toothbrush range, retailing for around $330 here in the states. That’s quite a bit steeper than Kolibree’s projected price of $200, but it remains to be seen which brush is better.
We’ll keep you posted on availability.
[via Reuters]
