Product Review: MIRROR
Who do you want to be when you look in the mirror? MIRROR is much more than a conventional mirror that you hang on your wall. It’s an immersive virtual live and on demand workout experience. I’ve had the privilege of using the MIRROR for two weeks and this is my take.
When you begin the buying process by ordering the MIRROR on its website mirror.co you, of course, get the standard email and confirmation. Now, this isn’t a typical product transaction that you get in the mail in two days, plug in, and set up yourself. You have about a week waiting period for their 3rd party delivery company, who reached out to me in a day or so after purchase was complete, to schedule a white glove service delivery day to bring the MIRROR into your home to get you up and running. This setup includes installing the product in your room of choice on an included stand, or mounting the unit securely on a flat wall. In the time from when I purchased the product to setup, I received this box in the mail with a heart rate monitor, fitness bands, and a written note from the CEO of the company, Brynn Putnam. It was a complete surprise and delight moment. It got me super excited about this product before it was even in my home, and it’s clear to the team at MIRROR that every customer matters! See the note here:
The price of the unit is a one time charge of $1,495.00, a $250.00 delivery fee, plus a subscription to use the service of $39.00 a month. Now when you do purchase the MIRROR you are signing up for a year commitment of the service, which I feel is actually a good thing. You are purchasing this unit to use it! What a better way to motivate yourself to wake up every day and use this product! However, I do feel after you use it a few times, you’ll be wanting to use it more. The $39.00 a month subscription gets your membership active for live and recorded classes on the MIRROR for yourself and five additional family members. So when you look at it that way, the product is paying for itself over time the more you and your family use it. In a similar way that Apple allows people to use their Family Sharing plan, you can get your family members up and running within mere minutes. Obviously, to use the service all five of your additional family members would need to be in front of the MIRROR itself, which is presumably in your home. One thing to note is that these active accounts are not specifically tied to a device and will work with any MIRROR hardware. So if your friend has a MIRROR in their home, you can use it with the App on your phone to get a quick workout in.
The way the MIRROR works is by taking its marching orders from an iPhone. As of the time of writing this article, the team at MIRROR only support iOS. They are indeed working on Android as an option, but that will be released in the near future. The MIRROR glass front is not a touch screen. All of the magic happens from your personal mobile device to set up a class, play, pause, end, give feedback, etc. Now, before we say, “Oh come on, I want to touch the MIRROR!” Think about it for a few seconds. When you’re working out and sweaty, do you really want fingerprints on the MIRROR glass? I think the team made a smart active choice to have the touch input device be the smart phone in your pocket.
The integration of this virtual workout experience to the Apple Ecosystem is beautifully executed. I say that for a few reasons. The iOS App for iPhone is very clean. On first launch the App will ask you some basic questions about name, height, weight, how many days a week you want to use the MIRROR, any current injuries to be aware of, etc. This is a way for the company to gather this information and curate the App experience specific to you, which in time will customize workouts recommendations for you in real time. Immediately following that you’ll be prompted to pair your iPhone to the MIRROR. If for any reason you don’t have your MIRROR yet and are setting the App up before it arrives like I did, you can, of course, pair the device after it is delivered.
The iOS mobile App updated recently and the team added a dedicated section of curated programs for your needs. You can start by experiencing workout programs and collections ranging from beginner, intermediate, advanced, and expert.
From the home screen you can either look to navigate to a live class or find one in the recorded classes section. I have been a huge fan of Julie Sanchez, as she’s hands down my favorite teacher on the MIRROR so far! Julie is so full of life, energetic, very clear with her instruction, clearly loves what she is doing, and knows how to teach an engaging class. Follow her on Instagram here. MIRROR offers classes for all types, with my favorite length being a 15 minute workout. I have been absolutely floored with how much you can get done in a 15 minute class in your own home. Now, when you find a class, select to start it. Before you begin let’s look at the information the App provides us, mainly being the Heart Rate option. As I said above, as of right now MIRROR only works with iOS, but I will say they play off the ecosystem of that insanely well. You get where I’m going here right? The App integrates seamlessly with Apple Watch. You can select Heart Rate monitor and from your iPhone, and with a click you can have your paired Apple Watch track your heart rate live throughout the class. To top that a step further, it shows you your active heart rate on the MIRROR with other metrics! It’s incredibly inspiring to see when you are “in the zone” and in line with what MIRROR believes your heart rate should be at that specific moment in the class.
I’ve been getting Apple Watch notifications this past week about hitting all time high move streaks, and even at times doubling my regular move goal. I have had the Apple Watch since launch day (April 24 2015), and I can tell you that in these past 24 days I’ve never had such an active move streak! 14 of those days I’ve had the MIRROR in my home, and 22 days ago I purchased the product. Ironic…I think not. ☺️💪🏻
Now let’s not forget that a very useful feature of the product is that it is indeed a mirror! Recently my wife and I got a new puppy and I have been bringing her upstairs where I have the MIRROR during my workouts. It has been a huge benefit to me to be able to focus on the MIRROR and participate in the class, all the while being able to see her in the reflection and be sure she isn’t causing trouble. If I were streaming a class from a conventional TV, not only would I be unable to see if I were following the instructor correctly, I would have to keep pausing the video and checking on my little dog. With the MIRROR I can literally see her throughout the whole class! 🐶
Now during the live and recorded classes you can communicate with the instructor by sending MIRROR emoji’s or stickers. This is where the social aspect comes into play. Everyone else can see your reactions that you sent from your iPhone to the MIRROR. Additionally, the same icons that you can send during your MIRROR class, you can download from Apple as an iMessage Sticker pack, so you can send these reactions to your friends as well! 💯🔥
The team at MIRROR seems to have a clear roadmap and vision to where the product can scale. The company has been testing live private one-on-one personal training sessions with a virtual instructor and you, the person working out. The MIRROR has a video camera built into the device, and it’s located at the top center of the unit. It’s actually not visible as it’s built in behind the mirror glass. It comes with a camera cover for privacy and MIRROR has been very transparent about this stating the following: “The cameras are only on and in use when authorized by you, and MIRROR also provides each user with a lens cap to place over the camera to ensure privacy. Sessions are not recorded or stored by MIRROR unless the user specifically authorizes MIRROR to do so.” Read their full privacy policy on their website. https://www.mirror.co/privacy-policy I want you to really think of the possibilities here. Instead of leaving your home, getting in a car or public transit, and going to a gym, you can have this personalized one-on-one interaction to get in a workout and be inspired in your own home. This is also making the entire workout experience ACCESSIBLE. Think of the people out there who suffer from anxiety who may find it difficult to go to a crowded gym, or someone with a medical issue that is unable to attend a class. Their MIRROR enables them to have a healthy lifestyle and maintain their fitness regardless what may be happening in their lives.
These are the big take aways I have from using the MIRROR for two weeks. They are striving to do all they can to include everyone. I feel with the massive amount of variety and content they create on a weekly basis, there will be a class or instructor that you really connect with who will inspire you to make a difference in your day.
A product like this doesn’t come around every day, or even every year. The MIRROR in my opinion is going to be around for years to come. I’d recommend to get in now and be a part of the movement. So who do you want to be when you look in the mirror?
-Joe
