Samsung's new Bespoke Mirror AirDresser is the kind of expensive luxury device that no one actually needs, but everyone would love to have.
For the uninitiated, the AirDresser is a cabinet that steams, deodorizes, sanitizes and dries clothing items, making it sort of like a wardrobe with an invisible dry cleaner living inside of it.
Of course, it isn't quite a replacement for either. For starters, it's only meant to hold a handful of items at a time, and it while it will do all of the things listed above, don't expect it to get any actual stains out.
Still, the AirDresser does give you the ability to maintain freshness for once or twice-worn items, effectively cutting down the number of washes your unstained clothes go through and extending their life in the process.
Recently, I had the opportunity to go hands-on with Samsung's new Bespoke Mirror AirDresser and came away wishing I could afford something so extravagant. Here's my experience with the new AirDresser.
Upon viewing the Bespoke Mirror AirDresser, I was immediately quite taken by its shiny, monolithic design. Unlike the previous AirDresser, the new model has a crystal mirror finish, giving it an easy bit of extra functionality in any dressing area.
That isn't the only design upgrade it's received, either — the Bespoke Mirror AirDresser is slightly wider (595mm) than its predecessor (445mm), which means it now offers five hangers instead of three.
You still have a water tank at the bottom of the unit, however, the Mirror AirDresser now has an extended gap on its left side for long dresses and coats.
Of course, the biggest difference between this model and its forerunner is the inclusion of Wi-Fi connectivity for use with Samsung's SmartThings app, along with a suite of AI features.
On the outside of the AirDresser, you also have a small LED screen which displays your chosen cycle and its remaining running time. Below that, you'll find some capacitive buttons which control the unit, which is handy if your phone isn't nearby.
The app offers your choice of 24 cycles for each kind of fabric you may want to put in the AirDresser, with dedicated modes for wool, linen, delicates and the like, although if you'd rather take the easy route, you can put your feet up and let the machine's AI Dry technology take over.
Much like the technology offered by Samsung's new AI-powered laundry range, the Mirror AirDresser has an AI Dry mode that uses a humidity sensor to figure how much drying your clothes actually need in order to prevent overdrying.
To test this feature, I placed some damp clothes from a half-finished dryer cycle in the AirDresser and let it do its thing while I went off to watch some TV. It's worth mentioning that the TV in question was Samsung's own The Frame, which was provided to demonstrate how the Mirror AirDresser interacts with other connected devices within Samsung's ecosystem.
Within roughly half an hour, a notification popped up on our TV screen informing us that the cycle was complete. Amusingly, it also gave us a "remove your clothes" request, which I couldn't help but read in an Eyes Wide Shut manner.
Additionally, the Mirror AirDresser's steaming functionality is said to be good for wrinkle reduction. Samsung stipulates that it works best with woollen clothes and rayon fabrics, which is admittedly very specific.
Of course, I decided to put the AirDresser through its paces with some incredibly wrinkly, pre-washed and dried jeans and cargo pants I brought from home. Truth be told, the items were so wrinkly, you could probably cut yourself on some of their sharper lines, so I didn't expect much.
After running the pairs through a quick steaming and drying cycle, I was surprised to find that the AirDresser did a decent job of reducing wrinkles in each item, even if they weren't quite ready to be worn outside.
Obviously, the AirDresser isn't meant as an ironing replacement, though I believe under the right circumstances, with clothes that aren't quite as wrinkled, it could conceivably be used instead of an iron in some instances.
For someone like me, who goes through black t-shirts like nobody's business, a device like the AirDresser seemed like an absolute godsend. Now that I've tried the device on some of my own t-shirts, that prediction has proven entirely accurate.
Firstly, it's fantastic to have another quick drying option for t-shirts that doesn't involve them shrinking and being prematurely destroyed in a tumble dryer. At home, my only real alternative to the dryer is to use a small clothing rack and let my t-shirts dry on it overnight. More often than not, they're still somewhat damp the next morning.
I decided to use the Mirror AirDresser on the black t-shirt I'd been wearing the whole day. I pulled out one of its five removable clothes hangers, each with a set of clips for hanging pants, and popped the shirt onto it before sliding the hanger back in. Because the shirt was already dry, I opted for a quick steam and dry session.
Now, the shirt was far from dirty before going in, but it clearly looked and felt worn, also smelling of my deodorant and cologne. The Mirror AirDresser not only gave the shirt a 'fresh out of the dryer' crispness, it also deodorized it completely, making it feel like it was properly clean.
It also occurred to me that the Mirror AirDresser would be an absolute game changer for clothes that aren't supposed to be washed very often, such as jeans. It's well known that washing jeans too frequently will result in the wearing down of fibers, as well as color loss.
Truthfully, the only reason you should really wash your jeans is if they're badly stained or have started to smell. While the Mirror AirDresser won't help you with the former, its ability to sanitize and deodorize will definitely come in handy for the latter.
While I undoubtedly came away impressed by my Bespoke Mirror AirDresser experience, its extravagant AU$2,999 (around $1,945 / £1,530) price point means that it's a device reserved exclusively for my wildest laundry-related fantasies.
While I fully appreciate that it's the kind of thing I will probably never own, I also admit to being utterly jealous of anyone who does end up with one in their home.
Samsung's Bespoke Mirror AirDresser is available now in Australia and we expect a US and UK release in the near future, although a specific timeline hasn't been officially confirmed yet.
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