Hands on With the Smartest Mirror
With technology today, especially wearables, we are tracking an incredible amount of personal data. Step count is the most common example of this data collected by the devices we carry around with us every day and has been the focus of many companies including the likes of Fitbit and Apple. As this technology has expanded at a rapid pace we can keep tabs on a greater variety of detailed information about ourselves than ever before. Today’s wearables have the abilities to track activity related data such as, how many flights of stairs we have climbed, steps, distance, active energy, standing hours, exercise minutes, and more. Our data collection doesn’t stop at just activity though, we can also record and monitor our nutritional intake and even the quality of our sleep. There is one significant problem though associated with all this information. Most of us never take the time to look at it. At least not regularly or with meaningful eyes. Mango Mirror aims to change all of this by integrating a simple non-distractive display behind your bathroom mirror. With the use of the Mango Mirror along with platform integrations such as Apple’s HealthKit or Fitbit your personalized data will be the first thing you see in the morning and the last thing, you see before calling it a night.
Staying Focused
The team at Mango Mirrors ultimate goal is to help provide subtle reminders to its customers about their health. For instance setting a daily step goal with your tracker is a common practice, but in theory, we really just need to strive to push ourselves a little further every day. So every morning when I wake up, while I am brushing my teeth I can set a new goal, which is just beat what I did yesterday. Doing this will inevitably drive my healthy habits in a positive direction. Coupled with activity information, I can see my nutritional information and can make similar adjustments. For instance, I know that if I was a bit lazy yesterday and decided to eat at that fast food chain, instead of making a more balanced and lower calorie meal at home. Then maybe I should push my activity a bit more today to offset the additional calorie intake from the prior day. What is really terrific about the Mango Mirror is that you can customize which data is displayed on your mirror based on what is most important to you. Maybe you’re a calorie counter, or maybe you’re a bodybuilder who focuses mostly on protein intake, or maybe carbs are the enemy! No matter what your diet and excercise plan is, with the Mango Mirror application you can make sure that information that is most important to you will be visible every morning as you are getting ready for your day.
Installation
The Mango mirror installs much like any other mirror you might buy from your local hardware store. It comes with a top and a bottom bracket that you mount on the wall. Once the brackets are mounted the mirror slides in snuggly and securely from the side and holds the mirror firmly in place.
Pairing
You will need an iOS device to pair the unit but the company does plan to expand their reach to other device customers down the road. To pair the mirror with your iOS device you will first download the Mango Mirror application from the app store. Once downloaded you will need to register an account with Mango Mirror. The application will then search for the mirror that you have already installed and plugged into your electrical outlet. When the mirror is located and appears in the application you will tap on the mirror to select it, and then follow the remaining steps to complete the set up of your device.
How does it work?
At launch, the Mango Mirror will pull information from two different sources. You can get data from either your Fitbit application or from the native Apple Health application. Once connected to your iOS device you will be prompted to allow Mango Mirror access to either service (Fitbit or HealthKit) that you choose. Mango mirror will then be able to display your information on the mirror via a small display that is hidden behind the mirror itself.
Use it by yourself or let others in the fun!
Mango Mirror allows for multiple users and even lets your guests get involved. You can set this up using the Mango Mirror application. In the application users are presented with two different display options, a general display and a personal display. Let’s face it your friends don’t want to know you ate a dozen donuts yesterday, and to be quite honest you probably don’t want them to know either. The general display option senses when a 
person walks up that does not have a registered account by use of a built-in proximity sensor as well as a bluetooth sensor that searches from a registered users phone. When the Mango Mirror senses a person (by the built in proximety sensor) but does not have a bluetooth authentication the display options defaults to the general display. This allows a guest user to be greeted with a more generic set of information, such as weather, time, news or even quotes. However, when Mango Mirror recognizes a user with the proximety sensor and that person has a registered iOS device, the Mango Mirror will unlock (automatically) and display your Personal Display information. Users can customize their Personal Display options as well as the General Display options from the Mango Mirror application.
Application
The Mango Mirror application paves the way for for the user to customize and control what data and information is presented to them as they approach the mirror. From within the application you can select the mirror that you want to customize. Doing so allows you to select from two different displays. General Display (for everyone that walks up) and Personal (for your more private information that is for your eyes only). Tapping on either will bring up the customization settings.
From the customiztion screen you can choose to add new pages, customize what information is provided on those pages, adjust the size of each section within the page, and adjust the length of time spent on each page.
Conclusion
After having the Mango Mirror for some time now, it is clear that the device is capable of providing a wealth of information that I can design specifically for me. By being presented information about my health, the weather, my schedule and reminders, all without having to hold my phone in my hand, allows me to go through my morning routine while getting a jump start on what I need to focus on for the day. The Mango Mirror truely is a device focused on the health of a users mind, body, and soul, providing a window into what is most important…our health! No matter if you are a serious health nut or an “Average Joe” like myself Mango Mirror can provide an versitle and important roll in your life. For more information check out Mango Mirror here our health is worth the investment!
