This Mug Is the Hottest Way to Track Your Thieving Co-Workers

Say you’re already late for work, and also you groggily pour a cup of joe into your mug however neglect it on the kitchen counter. With Ember’s Travel Mug, your cellphone will yell at you to show again now and seize the caffeine.

The folks at Ember confirmed off their tech to me throughout the Pepcom showcase at CES on Wednesday. The mug itself is supplied with know-how particular to Apple gadgets and is similar sort of tech present in Air Tags. The mug makes use of Apple’s Find My function, which is supposed to assist folks preserve monitor of things they usually lose, similar to their keys or their AirPods. That monitoring function has proved to have a number of makes use of past discovering misplaced objects. AirTag gadgets have additionally been utilized by stalkers to monitor folks, usually with out the sufferer even understanding.

The folks at Ember demonstrated that their gadget nonetheless knew the placement of a mug they left again of their lodge room, although we had been half a mile away in a distinct on line casino. The app provides the deal with and approximate location of the gadget. The firm reps additionally stated the Travel Mug 2+ comprises a speaker that may play a sound while you’re looking out underneath the pillows in your misplaced mug. And now should you assume you’re coworker is stealing your mug, you will have a approach to catch the thief red-handed.

Melanie Peralta, Ember’s director of PR, stated their firm has had a robust relationship with Apple for years now. The firm’s app has integrations with Apple’s Health App to assist customers decide how a lot caffeine they could be consuming.

The gadget is an replace to the 12-ounce Travel Mug 2, and can retail on the identical value of $199.95. The mug has a heater that’s meant to maintain liquids scorching for 3 hours when its not on its charging dock. It additionally has a heads up show that may say when the mug is empty or enable customers to regulate the warmth. The new gadget has an anticipated Spring launch date.

Despite the mug’s new options having apparent performance for individuals who usually neglect their espresso at house, it does introduce the likelihood for abuse. Since AirTag’s inception, Apple has been routinely rolling out firmware updates meant to cease folks from stalking utilizing its geolocation know-how. Although lots of these updates are for the AirTag know-how itself, the corporate has created some options on the app aspect to offer customers discover if there’s an undesirable AirTag on their particular person. Apple has additionally created an app for Android gadgets that may notify if there’s a tracker on their particular person.

A mug is a bit more tough to slide onto somebody’s particular person with out their data, but it surely’s good for everybody to bear in mind that this type of factor is on the market.