The 5 best smart mugs from Ember and more in 2024

There’s nothing worse than making a cup of coffee in your favorite coffee maker and then getting distracted from drinking it, only to come back and find it cold and undrinkable. The same goes for pretty much any hot drink, whether it’s tea, chocolate, or even milk; having a warm drink that’s cooled down can be really disappointing and frustrating. Well, luckily, there’s a solution to that problem in the form of smart mugs that can keep your drink warm. In fact, you could also theoretically use them to heat up your drink from the one that you put into it, which is a nice added benefit if you’re willing to give up the battery charge.

Of course, there are a lot of options out there with lots of brands getting into the game, so it can be a bit hard to pick something good. As such, we’ve drawn on our own experience in tech and commerce to find and pick the best ones in various categories so that you can find the exact thing you need. Our picks range from the fancy to the very budget-friendly, so be sure to consider each option before taking the dive.

The Best Smart Mugs in 2024

• Buy the  if you want the Best overall smart mug
• Buy the  if you want the best long-lasting smart mug
• Buy the if you want the Best smart travel mug
• Buy the if you want the best budget smart mug
• But the if you want the Best smart mug warmer

Ember Smart Mug 2

Best overall smart mug

Ember is probably one of the most well-known smart mugs and essentially helped kickstart the popularity of smart mugs, so it’s no surprise that it’s at the top of the list. In fact, the latest Ember mug, the Mug 2, has a lot of great features that you’ll enjoy. That said, it’s important to note that while the Mug 2 can absolutely heat up your liquid over time, that’s not really what it’s meant for, and it might end up expending a lot of the battery and give you less time to keep your drink warm.

Of course, battery life isn’t so much of an issue if you’re using the coaster that it comes with, which keeps it charged and essentially lets you keep your drink warm indefinitely. In terms of heating, it can go between 120 Fahrenheit and 145 Fahrenheit, which is pretty respectable, and it has about an 80-minute battery life when it isn’t connected to the charger. While you can totally use it without the app, pairing it adds a lot more convenience and configuration, such as being able to set the temperature to whatever you want it to, telling you what the temperature is now, and giving you a notification when it’s done.

As for capacity, the mug can handle 10 ounces of liquid, which is pretty good, and there’s even if you want something that has a bit more capacity. Also, the Mug 2 is IPX7 rated, so you can wash it by hand in the sink and it absolutely is not made for a dishwasher, so don’t ever try cleaning it with that, or else you’ll likely destroy it. Also, it’s worth noting that it has an auto-shutoff that comes in after 2 hours of inactivity, which is a nice safety feature.

Vsitoo S3 Pro

Best long-lasting smart mug

While the Ember Mug 2 is great, it doesn’t actually have that long of battery life, especially if you set it on one of the higher temperature settings. So, if you want something that keeps your drinks hot for a longer period of time, the Vsitoo S3 Pro is a good option, and not only because of the battery life. The S3 Pro has double-wall insulation, so even when it’s switched off, it can keep your drinks warm for quite some time, so you also don’t have to micro-manage the battery life.

Even so, the S3 Pro has a 2,500 mAh battery that can last you up to a whopping eight hours, assuming you have it on the lowest heat setting. Speaking of which, it has one of the widest temperature ranges we’ve seen, going from 96 Fahrenheit to 149 Fahrenheit, which is great for those of you who like your drinks warm, but not piping hot. Also, the included lid is a nice little addition since it lets you keep it from spilling while in use, and it also helps with keeping the drink warm, which will extend the battery life a little bit further.

The S3 Pro also has an app that lets you set the temperature and tell you the internal temperature of the drink, as well as a notification, although you can use it in manual mode as well. Arguably, it’s a bit more usable than the Mug 2 in that regard because you can manually adjust the temperature of the mug that you want using the button at the bottom rather than having to rely on whatever your last setting was. Also, the S3 Pro is also IPX7 rated and can be hand-washed only.

Ember Travel Mug

Best smart travel mug

While mugs are great, what if you’re the sort of person who likes to travel around with your hot drink of choice? Well, in that case, you’re going to want a smart travel mug, and you might not be surprised to find out that there are smart travel mugs as well, and Ember makes a pretty good one too. It has a 12-ounce capacity, which is pretty great, and you can certainly use it for stuff beyond hot drinks, such as soups or other thinner liquids that can be kept warm in a device like this.

In terms of temperature, it can hit between 120 degrees Fahrenheit and 145 degrees Fahrenheit, which is a pretty good range and is well-suited for those who prefer higher temperatures. It also has a slightly longer battery life than the Mug 2, which makes sense given it’s bigger and can hold a 2-hour charge, which should be more than enough to drink your liquid or at least get it to somewhere you can transfer it to another container. Also, one nice feature is that you can see the battery life left directly on the mug, so you don’t have to go and access the app if you don’t want to.

That said, the app does have a couple of cool features, such as being able to track how much liquid you drink, save presets for various drinks or soups, and change the color of the LED. The Ember Mug is also IPX7 rated, so it can be washed by hand but not in the dishwasher, and, interestingly enough, has a leak-proof lid and is submersible up to one meter. We’re not quite sure why you’d submerge it underwater; maybe you want to drink while in the pool, but it’s there if you want it.

Cosori Coffee Mug Warmer & Mug Set

Best budget smart mug

While all the fancy features of being able to connect to an app are great, they add a significant cost to the whole thing, making them quite expensive to justify overall. Luckily, there are more budget-friendly options that don’t have smart app control and mostly rely on a mug warmer like the Cosori mug and warmer set. Instead of having a heating element inside the mug, the base itself is what warms the drink up and keeps it warm, and with a stainless steel mug, the heat travels much more than a traditional glass or ceramic mug.

The mug has a massive 17-ounce capacity, so it’s great if you love to drink a lot of coffee, tea, or whatever your favorite drink is and it has a heat-resistant handle so you don’t get burned from the mug, although there’s also a rubber sleeve as well. You also don’t have to worry about spilling things because the warming base is coated with a special heating element and design, which essentially makes it spill-proof, which is great for something that has a ton of electricity running through it.

As for the base itself, you can control it manually and can function in both Fahrenheit and Celsius mode if you prefer the latter, and you can control the temperature by one degree at a time, a pretty good level of accuracy.  Also, the base runs from AC 100 to 240V and 50 to 60Hz, so you can take it with you if you travel outside the country; another big positive of this is that it makes it quite convenient. Also, another big positive of this set is that you could always just use your own mugs with the warmer if you want.

Vobaga Coffee Mug Warmer

Best smart mug warmer

If you already have your own flat-bottomed mug and you want to save an extra bit of money, then you might want to just grab the warmer on its own rather than grabbing a set. In that case, we’d suggest the Vobaga Coffee Mug Warmer, which you can grab for $40 at MSRP, but it often goes for less than have of that. And the big plus of just having a warming plate is that you can use any sort of flat-bottomed mug you have, so you aren’t stuck to using just one type, and other people in the household can use it as well.

As for the warmer itself, you can pick from three temperature settings, 104 Fahrenheit, 131 Fahrenheit, and 149 Fahrenheit, all of which can be changed by a press of the button on the warmer. The hot plate is also sealed and protected against leaks, so you don’t have to worry about minor spills here and there, and it’s easy to wipe off when it’s cool. Speaking of which, the plate has a safety cut-off feature where it will automatically turn off after four hours, and a red blinking LED will let you know it’s still warm so that you don’t touch it by mistake.

Of course, one thing we need to warn you about is that these types of heaters aren’t ideal unless you’re using a flat-bottomed and thin-walled cup, and especially ceramic has a lot of resistance to heating up, so it will take time to heat up. You could potentially get yourself a stainless steel mug instead to help with the heat transfer, but then you might as well just go for the Cosori set instead. Either way, just be aware that it’s not the ideal mug warmer unless you have the perfect mug.

How We Chose These Laptops for Battery Life

Temperature Control

Probably one of the most important parts of any smart mug is how good it is at keeping your drink at the temperature you want. That means that you don’t only have a large range of temperatures to pick from, but how good it is at reaching and keeping your drink at that temperature. Obviously, all smart mugs will have a little bit of variability, but we made sure to mostly pick ones that could stay within a degree or so of the temperature that you picked. The only real exception to that is the smart warming plate, which only has three temperatures and relies on the thermal capabilities of your mug.

Versatility

There are lots of ways to use your mug, and not all of them are made to be carried around, such as the Ember Mug 2. That said, we did make sure to include pics that had some ability to be moved around, usually with the inclusion of a lid that helps keep the liquid in. We also did include one specific travel mug, which is probably the best option if you’re the type of person who commutes and travels a lot and needs that ability. Speaking of traveling, we also made sure to include options that can work around the world, so if you want to travel, you can take your smart mug with you.

This article is managed and created separately from the Digital Trends Editorial team.

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