Overloaded Toothbrushes

Last week, advised by my dentist, I bought a new electric toothbrush. Apparently I have been overbrushing. I needed a model that signals the right pressure. The i05 from Oral B does exactly that. Its very very good. I do like it and don't regret the purchase, despite what I say next.

But it came with three things that felt off kilter.

1. I get the need for instructions (though Steve Jobs is said to have railed against any "help" menu on a phone).

But these are just too hard to grasp quickly. I really do not want to think about my toothbrush this much. What's gone wrong? Basically, they have abandoned words for images, I assume so that they can use the same instruction sheet across Europe, maybe the world. Efficient yes, but forces me to brush up on dental hieroglyphs last thing at night or first thing in the morning when I am none too sharp. Context of the user matters.

2. There's an app for it.

An app to help me brush my teeth. I can hear the consensual product team deciding on this. And I'll confess, I've written (approvingly) in the past about the way products are turning into services. But maybe we are now going too far, too thoughtlessly. In itself, it is harmless. Yet the issue again is context of the user. Like many people I am drowning in apps that help me micromanage my life or inundate me with content. I have an app for a doorbell, for charging my EV, for the EV itself, for solar panels, for various smart speakers etc....I know I could even get one for my fridge (Paco on the Full Moon team has one) if it wasn't so last decade.

All of this presumes that we use the apps. All of them? How does this scale? When do we stop? When do they collectively become something we spend time servicing rather than the apps servicing us? That's a broader question for the design of technology of course.

3. The toothbrush is "built with AI ".

Apparently

"ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (Oral Bs caps) recognizes your brushing style and guides you to cover all your teeth, so you never miss a spot".

I am already looking forward to a shower that does the same for soap and shampoo and coaches you - live - as you wash so you don't miss any spots.

In fact it turns out I went cheap with the iO5 purchase. The top of the range iO10 has an rrp of £800 (holy shit that's a $1000 toothbrush!) and is actually on Amazon at Black Friday prices at £259. You can buy three manual toothbrushes from Colgate on Amazon for under £2. Now I've not had a great lifetime with teeth, and I see the benefits of electric (my dentist has been very clear on this) but....maybe this is also an example of how high end consumers are propping up spending right now.

Sometimes we just need to stand back and ask "really"?