Review on VSITOO S3 Pro App Controlled Smart Mug Warmer with Double Vacuum Insulation - 14oz, IPX7 Waterproof, Sliding Lid, 4-Hr Battery Life by Anthony Bandzz

I have both VSITOO S3 Pro and Ember 14oz. Here is a comparison and rating. CAPACITY: VSITOO says it can hold 360ml, which should be 12.2 ounces, but actual measurements show it can hold just over Ember's 14 ounces. It's also physically larger, as is the charging station. BUILD QUALITY: The look and feel of the S3 Pro is very similar to Ember's ceramic body. The Ember outperforms the S3 Pro in that the inside of the Ember also has a ceramic coating, while the S3 Pro is more like an enamel coating. Both have that thin, uncomfortable grip. which is covered with a rubber seal). The stand of the S3 Pro has a metal top and looks and feels like the Ember. The bottom is made of plastic and has a ring structure that makes it difficult to clean. POWER: The stand for the S3 Pro uses a USB-C connector, and I assume you can use any USB PD (Power Delivery) power source that has a similar current rating (2.1A on the included adapter ) can supply to support power supply. On the other hand, Ember uses its own 19V barrel connector power supply. Both mounts are always on, which means that even when there are no cups on them, there are 19V across the "pogo" pins you see on the mount. This means that if you put a metal object on them, you will short them out Laying pins will most likely damage the adapter. CHARGING PERFORMANCE: With normal use, Ember can work for almost 2 hours on a single charge. Full charge keeping my coffee at 140F. The S3 Pro's display says it can run for 4 to 8 hours, but so far I haven't seen it run up to 2 hours. APP: The Ember app is very simple. You should be able to set the color of the LED to identify your mug when there are other embers nearby, but this feature never worked for me. The LED is always white. The Ember app also never connects reliably and stably to the mug. I've had to uninstall and reconnect my Ember at least 4 times since I got it. I just gave in and let the mug keep my drink at the temperature it remembered. The S3 Pro app has a lot of potential. BUT why does the smart mug app need so many permissions? In order for it to work, it first needs permission to access phone features. Then you need to give him your phone number, to which he will send a verification code. Then he needs access to media storage and, strangest of all, a location! I denied all permissions and no connection to S3 Pro. Within 24 hours of installing this app, I received a text message "XEsn acrazygirl.?.*567". (I've replaced some elements with question marks just to be safe.) Coincidence? May be. But when something that just needs to be hooked up to a mug to tell it what temperature it should be needs access to so many independent functions, it makes me very suspicious. Also, I live in the US and am used to having my temperature in Fahrenheit. I switched the units to F and now the scale has changed from 5 degree Celsius increments to 9 degree Fahrenheit increments. Yes, these are regular increases, but at first glance they seem random. Why not just use 5 degree increments in C and F? CONCLUSION: Despite the build quality of the S3 Pro stand, its inner coating and its weak loading capacity, I think I will use it more often. That means it will be a mug that I leave at the office because I go there more often than at home. If I ever go on a trip, I will take the S3 Pro with me. The fact that you can set the temperature right on the mug without opening the app is a huge plus. (I uninstalled the VSITOO app.) $30 less than Ember, I think it's great value and I should have given Ember last Christmas instead.