Light is tricky. Our senses adapt quickly and it’s difficult if not impossible to judge light objectively. So when you’re applying makeup in one lighting environment but want to look your best under different lighting, getting everything right can be a challenge. Luxury household goods company Simplehuman‘s newest sensor-equipped mirror has near infinite light-level and color-temperature control. The Sensor Mirror Pro also includes connectivity to major smart home platforms.
Two mirrors are included with the Sensor Mirror Pro. The main 5x-magnification mirror is eight inches in diameter. A smaller 10x mirror for greater detail attaches magnetically either to the front, when you want to use it, or on the back of the main mirror for storage. Motion detection is built in and when the mirror detects that you’re moving closer it will brighten and then hold its light level steady while you’re close. The mirror is cordless and rechargeable and can run on battery power for up to four weeks on a charge.
The outer LED ring of the mirror mimics sunlight, which Simplehuman calls Tru-lux lighting. The mirror can create more than 50,000 lighting variations via a Wi-Fi connected smartphone app with lighting pre-sets, with manual color temperature and brightness controls, or via light capture. To capture light, you use the app with the phone’s camera to record the lighting in any environment, permitting you to later recreate those settings with the mirror.
“We wanted to create a mirror that gives customers the best view,” said Simplehuman CEO Frank Yang. “This means a mirror that can mimic light from any environment.”
Smart home platform connectivity today includes Nest and IFTTT, with Amazon Alexa following soon. When the Sensor Mirror Pro is paired with a Nest Cam, the mirror will recreate brightness and color to match what the Nest Cam sees, automatically adjusting for changes throughout the day.
The Sensor Mirror Pro can connect with other devices via IFTTT (If This Then That) recipes. An IFTTT recipe is an easy way to point and click to select devices, target activities, and direct the actions they take. For example, the Sensor Mirror Pro could be part of a recipe that connects with a weather detecting device. With such a recipe, if it’s cloudy outside, the Sensor Mirror Pro lighting will switch to the mirror’s overcast pre-set.
When Alexa connectivity is available, it will be updated via the Sensor Mirror Pro smartphone app, and you’ll be able to use voice commands to change brightness and color temperature settings.
The Sensor Mirror Pro is available now via the Simplehuman website for a $250 list price.
