You will be forgiven for not thinking of the Kolibree when you think of electric toothbrushes; it’s a tough market cornered by two giants: Philips and Oral B. However, the Ara from Kolibree boasts the impressive title of being the world’s first toothbrush with artificial intelligence. Whether that is a good thing remains to be seen, but we are a sucker for a ‘world’s first’ here at Gadgethead. So, lets take a look at what the Ara brings to the table…or sink…whatever.

What is it like shoving a robot into your mouth twice a day? Starting with the design: it doesn’t look too scary, like it might hack you internet history in the night (I’m not saying it won’t); it is small, light-weight, smooth and glossy, which looks great when dry but tends to get a bit slippery as nothing prevents the toothpaste (and spit) sliding its way down the handle. It features a two-week battery life, battery life light indicator, and it comes with one brush head (a bit tight, as replacements are priced at a rough £16 each) and a shaving plug style charger, for which you may need an adaptor. It uses sonic pulses, which means its quieter than oscillating toothbrushes: it vibrates every 30 seconds to remind you to move around each quadrant of the mouth and vibrates again to let you know when 2 minutes is up.

These are the same features we see in toothbrushes four times cheaper, but it’s the use of the companion app that Kolibree claim makes the Ara special. By connecting over Bluetooth you get real-time feedback via the 3D sensors as you brush. It will let you know how long you have spent in each area or spots you might have missed. You will also get feedback of your progress over time, including duration, frequency and surface brushed all in one dashboard, and you’ll receive brushing quality, feedback and weekly reports.

We found the Kolibree Ara to be a good toothbrush with some interesting feedback from a functional and intuitive app. Sadly that big old price tag might mean that Kolibree remains largely unheard of when simply concentrating on your brushing could provide the same results as the app. RRP €129

3.7 out of 5

Buy now

Pros

Sleek design

Quiet

Sonic pulses cleans teeth

Easy to use app

Realtime freeback

Weekly reports

See progress over time

Offline funtion

30second area movement reminder

2minute session indicator

Cons

Over priced

Only one head included

Shaver plug

2weeks charge is less than cheaper competitors

Glossy finish becomes slippery when wet