The toilet is often referred to as "the throne," and Kohler is almost taking that expression literally with the introduction of its new Numi model. We've already seen the Kohler C3 toilet seat, which was pretty advanced in its own right, but the Numi certainly wears the crown as one of the most feature-packed toilets we've ever seen, and it comes with a US$6,650 price tag to match.
So, what does a toilet in this price range actually do? Let's start with the new stuff that comes with this upgraded model, as Kohler already had a $6,400 version available. Now, the toilet features a Bluetooth receiver that allows users to stream music directly from their smartphone. It also adds an SD card and slot for users to create playlists or program a personalized greeting. After all, who wouldn't want their toilet to say hello before they have a seat?
Another new feature is ambient lighting, which includes seven different colors. Users can have the Numi cycle through each of the colors, or have a different color set for each day of the week.
The new Numi also includes a battery back that can support up to 100 flushes, so even in an extended power outage, the toilet will still function as normal.
The final new feature comes in the form of a USB port on the back. This allows service techs to come out and update the firmware on the toilet. That's right, the toilet has firmware.
While those features are interesting, that's only what has been added to the new version. Every luxury item you could imagine is on both the old and new version of the Numi. These include a bidet and heated dryer, heated seats, foot warmers, custom settings for individual users, and a built-in music player. If you can think of something that would make going to the bathroom more enjoyable, this toilet probably has it.
Like the original Numi, everything on the new model is controlled through a wireless remote. Even the lid of the toilet seat is opened and closed through the remote. The bidet, heater, foot warmers, seat warmers, music, lighting, and flushing are all controlled through this remote, so no one will ever have to actually touch the toilet itself – at least, not with their hands.
This thing is pure luxury, alot of us westerners would have a hard time getting used to the idea of using a bidet, but you dont HAVE to use that part of it, it has alot of other options and i think its nice to have the option. There are certain situations where it might be welcomes by even the average user, like after ingesting spicey substances causing what i like to refer to as "the ring of fire".
The price while high, is really not that much when your looking at million dollar + homes with bathrooms full of marble and granite and luxury fittings etc, a bathroom could easily have 30-40k in luxury stuff so another 6k for something no one else has isnt a big deal to some people.
If i was rich I would buy one absolutely, but i think it would be really out of place in a home that wasn't worth a million +.
I think the lighting was a nice touch that probably cost them very little to add, like most of the amenities of this toilet. I can see toilets like these if other people start making them coming down into the 2,000$ price range. The porcelain is probably the most expensive part to make.
I don't like the idea of techs coming in to update the firmware, i mean really? it has bluetooth couldn't the firmware be updated over that? if not it would cost very little to add wifi capabilities.