I know flying cars are the prototypical futuristic technology, but given how most people drive (myself included), I can’t say that I’d rather have flying cars than smart toothbrushes. Hell, as someone with ADHD, a toothbrush that reminds me when it’s time to replace it sounds more useful than a flying car.
I have one of these toothbrushes, and I have to say, I’m definitely a lot better about remembering to change the toothbrush head on time now that it blinks at me when it’s time. It also buzzes after brushing when low on battery, which is similarly helpful. The sonicare heads aren’t cheap though (compared to other brands), especially the “smart” ones.
As for the article itself: I was curious how it worked, and just assumed the brush held onto a handful of IDs of last-seen heads, and stored how long they’d been used for, so it’s interesting to learn that the heads themselves are writeable.
+1. That a Sonicare toothbrush started complaining about a brush head that showed no visible wear encouraged me to stick to brainless toothbrushes. Initializing the brush heads by spraying a few random password attempts at them so they lock themselves sounds like an alternative solution, although I’m still not kindly inclined towards these complex disposables.
1973: “In the future, we can have flying cars.”
2023: “Look, I hacked my toothbrush.”
Ah, modern times.
I know flying cars are the prototypical futuristic technology, but given how most people drive (myself included), I can’t say that I’d rather have flying cars than smart toothbrushes. Hell, as someone with ADHD, a toothbrush that reminds me when it’s time to replace it sounds more useful than a flying car.
I have one of these toothbrushes, and I have to say, I’m definitely a lot better about remembering to change the toothbrush head on time now that it blinks at me when it’s time. It also buzzes after brushing when low on battery, which is similarly helpful. The sonicare heads aren’t cheap though (compared to other brands), especially the “smart” ones.
As for the article itself: I was curious how it worked, and just assumed the brush held onto a handful of IDs of last-seen heads, and stored how long they’d been used for, so it’s interesting to learn that the heads themselves are writeable.
My reaction to almost every story lately has been “they have played us for absolute fools”.
This seems like the first step to toothbrush DRM to me, where it only works with valid heads.
I personally think disposable / single use electronics like this should be banned. At least it doesn’t have a battery like those single use vapes…
+1. That a Sonicare toothbrush started complaining about a brush head that showed no visible wear encouraged me to stick to brainless toothbrushes. Initializing the brush heads by spraying a few random password attempts at them so they lock themselves sounds like an alternative solution, although I’m still not kindly inclined towards these complex disposables.