The HidrateSpark Pro isn’t the only smart water bottle out there, but it’s the most popular for tracking how much water you drink during the day, reminding you to drink up via a customisable glowing LED ring at the base of the bottle. The Pro keeps your liquids cold for 24 hours and keeps the smart tracking running for 10-14 days off a single charge.
HidrateSpark Pro Steel: Price and availability
The HidrateSpark Pro Steel 21oz version costs $69.99/£69.95, making it one of the most expensive smart water bottles you can currently buy. There are cheaper bottles out there, but most have different uses, including monitoring the temperature of liquids and offering self-cleaning modes.
You can buy the Pro directly from the Hidrate website and it’s also available from Apple’s own website with retailers like Amazon also offering it up. It doesn’t seem to drop in price, though you can pick up the cheaper Hidrate Spark 3, which adopts a slightly different approach to reminding you to drink.
HidrateSpark Pro Steel: Specs and features
The concept of the HidrateSpark Pro is pretty simple. It hosts a sensor in the removable base that wirelessly connects to the companion phone app to communicate how much water has been consumed from the bottle. It will also use that information to remind you when to drink if you’ve not sipped from it for a while. A customisable LED ring around the base glows brightly to make sure you don’t ignore those visual nudges and you can keep track of your daily totals from the app. There’s Apple Health integration and an Apple Watch app, so the bottle can use stored Health data to influence your daily water intake along with tracking intake from the wrist.
HidrateSpark Pro Steel: Build and Performance
The 21oz-sized bottle we had to test is definitely on the large side, but is made from nice quality stainless steel with a strong and secure lid. The sensor is well hidden in the base, but it does slightly protrude, which means it doesn’t sit entirely flat on a surface. It does keep liquids cold for up to 24 hours, but isn’t one you can use for hotter drinks. Getting things set up is pretty straightforward and it’s hard to ignore the sizable glowing reminders. The app is nicely presented and makes it easy to check on water intake and see if you’re hitting your hydration goals. Hidrate also offers the ability to track more drink types and adjust the bottle glow colour, though that surprisingly requires a monthly or annual subscription.
HidrateSpark Pro Steel: Competition
There aren’t a lot of smart water bottles out there like the Pro and that’s something the HidrateSpark has in its favour. There are cheaper alternatives like the AQUAME bottle and the HANDYSPRING, which is clearly inspired by the HidrateSpark and even offers a glowing reminder feature as well. The Pro does have that added Apple integration, which does make it more appealing over other options.
HidrateSpark Pro Steel: Should you buy it?
You should buy it if…
You want the best smart water bottle
You want a smart water bottle that works with Apple Health
You want a smart water bottle with long battery life
You shouldn’t buy it if…
You want a smart water bottle to store hot drinks
You want a small and light water bottle to carry around
HidrateSpark Pro Steel: Verdict
The HidrateSpark Pro Steel is a hulking smart water bottle that can effectively remind you to keep drinking and offers a companion app that’s easy to keep track of your progress. It’s thankfully something you don’t have to think about charging every few days and it does feel like it’s built to withstand some rough and tumble. It’s disappointing to find that some features in the app require a subscription and it still feels a bit pricey for what it does. What you can’t argue with is that it goes about its tracking business in a pretty slick manner.
The bottom line:
The HidrateSpark Pro Steel is a hi-tech water bottle loaded with cool features — and a hefty price tag.
