Smart bathroom
Even the water closet can stand to be a little smarter. From app-controlled showers that pre-heat to your preference, to advice-giving toothbrushes and smart home voice control you can command from your heated toilet, these are the best buys
The bathroom may be one of the most overlooked rooms in your smart home right now, but just because it tends to get a little too hot and steamy doesn’t mean you can’t upgrade it with some seriously splash-proof tech to make it as smart and stylish as everywhere else.
For the ultimate (and not to mention indulgent) addition to your smart bathroom, invest in the selfheating Axent One Plus (£4,895, crosswater.co.uk)
bidet toilet. This massaging super bidet allows you to control water temperature, water flow, oscillating and pulsating settings, dryer temperature and so much more, all from a handy remote. If you’d rather upgrade your shower than your toilet, the Mira Mode digital shower range (from £479, mirashowers.co.uk)
enables you to create custom presets for your showering experience, from choosing the precise temperature of your water to the duration of time you spend splashing around so you don’t get carried away, all from the app. For the colder months, its warm-up mode finds your ideal temperature before you even step in and then pauses until you’re ready. It also has the option of using a digital temperature dial within the shower for manual control, or a simple remote control, as well as a stylish design that’ll look right at home in your smart bathroom.
Goodbye boring old scales, hello 1 QardioBase 2 (£129.99, store-uk.getqardio.com) smart scales. These Bluetooth- and Wi-Fi-enabled scales measure your weight, as well as your BMI and body composition. All of that data is then sent straight to your smart devices, so you can keep tabs on your stats, set goals and track your progress over time. You can add multiple users to it, ensuring the whole family can keep tabs on their health and no one misses out.
Make-up lovers in particular won’t be able to resist the 2 HiMirror Plus (£349.99, available from Smartech at selfridges.com). Sure it works as a normal mirror, but using a built-in camera it has all kinds of futuristic features. You can use it to follow alongside video tutorials, zoom right in on your face to inspect your skin or get your make-up really precise, use the device’s on-board smarts to analyse your skin, as well as utilise its augmented reality tech to ‘try on’ different looks without the hassle. It also has built-in LED lights to simulate different scenarios, such as a brightly lit office or a dim restaurant, so that you look picture perfect wherever you’re going.
Even toothbrushes are smarter these days. The
3 Oral-B Genius 9000 (£300, oralb.co.uk) is an award-winning toothbrush that syncs up to an app, letting you keep tabs on your dental hygiene, from your next dentist appointment to the areas of your mouth you’re not paying enough attention to when you brush, which it figures out using position-detection technology.
While you’re smartening up your toothbrush, you should upgrade your shaver as well. The 4 Philips Smart Shaver Series 7000 (£300, philips.co.uk) enables you to create a personalised shaving plan to tackle your specific skin issues. The app tracks your technique in real time using a built-in accelerometer and suggests tips about how to improve your shave, which is especially handy for those with sensitive skin.
Although we’ve focused on the tech to improve your own appearance and wellbeing, let’s not forget about keeping your bathroom in tip-top condition too. If your bathroom gets too steamy or lacks good ventilation, you need the
5 Blueair Sense+ (£458.99, blueair.com) smart air purifier. It removes impurities from the air, making it fresher, healthier and less likely to lead to mould and other damp issues. Thanks to its Wi-Fi connectivity, you can control all of its functions remotely, and it can be activated automatically by the 6 Blueair Aware (£209, blueair.com) air quality monitor, so it kicks straight in whenever things get a bit hairy in there.
Nowadays, every room should have an AI voice assistant. The 7 Ultimate Ears Megablast (£269.99, ultimateears.com) is a waterproof speaker that’s great for listening to music while you’re showering or taking a bath, allowing you to connect to any device up to 100ft away. Most importantly, it has Alexa built in, enabling you to control music with your voice, as well as deliver commands to all of the other devices in your smart home. After a full charge, the speaker will last 16 hours – more than enough time for a relaxing soak.
A self-heating loo is the ultimate addition to your smart bathroom