Blair MacGregor
Hardware startup Mark One, the company behind the Vessyl intelligent cup that debuted for presale last year, launched a new device on Tuesday called the Pryme Vessyl, which automatically tracks users' water consumption habits and incorporates them into a customized schedule.
The Pryme Vessyl, which is now available in select Apple retail stores in North America, utilizes an algorithm which takes into account a user's age, weight, height and sex, as well as sleep and exercise patterns to automatically assess their hydration needs and suggest an appropriate level of water consumption. This level of specificity is important, the company says, given the diverse set of hydration requirements across people with different lifestyles and levels of fitness.
"It's clear that a marathon runner will have different hydration needs than a sedentary office worker, yet as a society we're content with relying on the myth of eight glasses of water per day, regardless of lifestyle," said Nic Barnes, head of brand at Mark One. "We developed Pryme to help you understand that it's not about how much you need in a day, it's about how much you need right now."
The device captures this data from a wide variety of sources, including the Apple Health and Activity apps on both iPhone and Apple Watch. You can also choose to input this data manually through the Pryme app.
As for the cup itself, the indicator on the side of the device is designed to rise or fall based on your water consumption habits during the day to signify how close you are to reaching your goal. When the blue light at the top of the indicator turns on, you've reached your optimal level of hydration or "Pryme" as the company calls it.
The 16-ounce Pryme Vessyl cup features a wire-free charging system and is said to last two days on a single charge.
The cup is being offered online and in select Apple retail locations for $99. If you preordered the company's first product, the Vessyl, during its preorder campaign last year, you'll also receive the Pryme Vessyl cup for free while the original Vessyl undergoes further development.
The Mark One engineering team is headed by Hamid Mohammadinia, who led Design for Manufacturing at Apple for the iPod and all three generations of the iPad.
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25 Comments
I thought this was a joke at first. $99 cup that reminds you to drink? If you feel thirsty then drink, simple as that.
If this was an app on the Apple watch that worked with an advanced hydration sensor built into the Apple watch itself that could literally detect when you needed water that would be cool. Other than that this is nothing more than an interesting gimmick. Agreed with above, if you feel thirsty, drink. God forbid the population grew without a cup telling us when we had to drink.
Our bodies have evolved sophisticated sensor systems to warn you and guide you, feeling thirsty, hungry, etc. It's just that in the last 50 years our eating habits have changed and food companies take advantage of these sensor systems to fool us into drinking, eating, smoking more than is good for us. It's time we learn to listen to our bodies again, and not use an electronic crutch to remind us to drink water.
And you need to carry this thing with you all day so you don't accidentally drink something without registering it. But it's a nice design, I give them that.
Nice ignorant comments. If it was as simple to drink when you are thirsty we would have more than 40% of the population that is considered properly hydrated. Proper hydration is one of the most beneficial things you can do for your overall health. If this helps people accomplish that then it is far worth the $99 price tag. Nice design also.