Ember’s a bit of a weird one. The Southern California firm has two distinct – though not wholly unrelated arms. There’s the smart mug side of the business that launched the startup and the more recent cold chain shipping wing, which leverages its temperature control technology to move things like medical supplies.
While it seemed as though the mug business might have been a kind of stepping stone to health care (where the real money is), that side of things is still going strong. Today at CES, for instance, Ember is announcing the Travel Mug 2+. The new addition to the line adds Apple’s Find My to the equation.
While not exactly the most obvious addition on the face of it, travel mugs are certainly the sort of thing that gets left behind quite easily. Add a couple hundred dollar price tag, and it become immediately clear why you’d really rather not accidentally leave the thing behind on a bus.
Due out at some point in Q2 2020, the mug has both the required built-in tracking, as well as a chime that plays if you happen to lose it in close proximity (another must have to properly use Find My).
The product has all the same functionality as the regular Travel Mug 2, including temperature control and a display built-in. In spite of the additional functionality, the product will run the same as its predecessor — $199 – when it launches later this year. No word on whether the standard mug will stay on the market at a reduced price.
Ember brings Find My functionality to its self-heating travel mug by Brian Heater originally published on TechCrunch