Tech

Apple is now selling this glowing smart bottle that gamifies hydration on its store

The 32-ounce HidrateSpark Pro syncs with Apple Health and reminds you to drink water with its glowing LED sensor.

Smart water bottles just got the Apple seal of approval. HidrateSpark’s $80 smart water bottle that reminds you to be a human and hydrate is now listed on Apple’s Store page. I didn’t know we needed smart features for our water bottles, but apparently Apple thinks so.

HidrateSpark / Apple

HidrateSpark describes their Pro water bottle as “the world’s smartest water bottle ever created” and it was released back in February, but just made its way onto the Apple Store. For those of us who don’t follow the smart water bottle market, HidrateSpark Pro bottle does sync with Apple Health and has nearly 2,000 positive reviews.

Hydration alert — Not looking at the smart features, the HidrateSpark is still a decent water bottle. It has stainless steel vacuum insulation so it’ll keep your drinks cold up to 24 hours and was built with a lightweight shatter- and odor-resistant plastic. But that’s pretty much where the regular water bottle features end, putting it on par with other offerings from Hydro Flask, Takeya or Yeti.

The HidrateSpark Pro has either a chug- or straw-style lid.HidrateSpark

The main smart feature is a LED puck on the bottom of the bottle that glows to remind you to drink water. You can even customize the color of the glow because, why not? Using a Bluetooth connection to the HidrateSpark app, the bottle tracks your water intake, and you can then post your results to a leaderboard with your friends to earn trophies. It feels a little over the top to gamify a basic need like drinking water, but at least it’s all in the name of health.

Baller bottle — Only HidrateSpark’s 32-ounce model is listed on the Apple Store page, which goes for $80 and is available in silver or black. But, on the HidrateSpark site, you get more color options and varying sizes including 17, 21 and 24 ounces.

I’m sure there are some people who truly need to constantly be reminded to drink water, but I feel like that could be much more affordably accomplished with a similar app and a “dumb” water bottle. At the end of the day, paying $80 for a smart glowing water bottle just feels a little over the top.