project-image

MEATER: The First Truly Wireless Smart Meat Thermometer

Created by Apption Labs

Meater is the only wire-free meat thermometer that will guarantee perfectly cooked meats every time you cook.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

46 | The MumMEAT
almost 7 years ago – Sat, Jun 17, 2017 at 12:01:45 AM

Happy Father's Day weekend y'all! Much appreciation goes out to the dads out there. Cheers to you!

Master Your Cooking with MEATER

We're so excited to continue shipping more MEATERs so you can work towards your new career as a master chef. To familiarize yourself with MEATER, visit our new YouTube Channel for a set of quick, instructional videos that can help you with some MEATER basics, like setting up a Custom or Guided Cook, increasing your wireless range with MEATER Link, and creating custom alerts. After watching, don't forget to subscribe because we plan on posting more cooking videos and fresh content to help you get the most out of MEATER.

 

If you have more questions about the MEATER product, please visit our support page, https://meater.com/support, to find our FAQs. If you have additional questions and would like to ask a ninja or a pirate a question, please email us at [email protected].

And don't forget, share your MEATER cooks whenever you post on social media by using the hashtag #meatermade.

Production and Fulfillment

We've shipped close to 3000 single MEATER units bringing us to almost 40% fulfillment completion. Our factory has produced over 5000 more single MEATERs and will be shipping them to our warehouses next week. This brings us to manufacturing more than 100% of all Kickstarter single MEATER units.

Our current goal is to fulfill single probe MEATER orders to Kickstarter pledges by the end of next month :) For the combination orders, we are shipping your MEATER(s) and MEATER Block separately, so you can get cookin' sooner! After single MEATERs are fulfilled for Kickstarter backers, we will begin fulfilling Indiegogo backers.

MEATER Blockbuster

We've received all the new parts to complete MEATER Block units and have begun hardware validation and firmware integration. Our plan is to use these hardware samples for beta testers after completion of our hardware/firmware validation, with the intention for this hardware to be the final version. This new hardware was necessary based on our testing of the previous version in an RF chamber. We needed to change to a new Bluetooth chipset to resolve firmware related limitations. Along with that change, we now have an improved antenna design and can’t wait to start fine tuning the wireless performance.

Building MEATER Blocks
Building MEATER Blocks

 

To expedite the process to manufacturing we are taking extra steps to avoid lead time issues once the design is confirmed and beta testers are ready to give us the green light:

  • We have manufactured all mechanical parts and these are waiting for the new PCBAs.
  • We have done mass production tooling for all metal and plastic parts.
  • We have purchased nearly all electronics parts to avoid issues with component lead time once ready to manufacture.
  • We have manufactured metal parts for the 1, 2, 3 and 4 probe IDs which will be included with the Block. These have been now manufactured in mass production quantities to avoid long lead times.

That's all for now! Thanks for the support as always!

All the best,

Joseph, Teemu, and the Apption Labs Squad

Let's Meat Up

Facebook: Click here and "Like" our page

Instagram: Click here and "Follow" us

Twitter: Click here and "Follow" us

Youtube: Click here and subscribe

MEATER! Click here to check out our site! 

45 | Grillers of the Caribbean: Dead Meats Tell No Tales
almost 7 years ago – Fri, May 26, 2017 at 11:55:46 PM

MEATER Fulfillment – UPDATE YOUR SHIPPING ADDRESS

IMPORTANT! We will be closing the survey for addresses on 6/2, so please update your address once you finish reading this! If you happen to move after we’ve closed the survey, you can directly message us through Kickstarter and we’ll make the changes in our system.

Here’s how you can update your address on the Kickstarter website (the app doesn’t allow it!):

1) Go to our campaign page.

2) Click the blue "View Pledge" button.

3) Click the "Survey" tab from the pop-up window.

4) Under your current listed address, click "Edit Address".

We’ve had a few kinks with our fulfillment system but we’ve managed to iron them out during the past week. Shipping MEATERs should now be a breeze! So far we’ve shipped 1000+ single MEATER probes (some backers have already received them), 1000+ more will be shipped this coming week, and another 1000+ the week after. As you can see, we’re moving rather quickly and we must have your latest address!

Also to clarify, we aren’t fulfilling one region completely before shipping to the next. We are using multiple warehouses, each in different locations in the world. Shipments are by backer number (earliest backers first) by region. As such, we cannot determine when your specific order will be shipped as each warehouse contains different quantities.

We haven’t let up on quality control. And yes, those units are ready to ship!
We haven’t let up on quality control. And yes, those units are ready to ship!

For single MEATERs, here are our goals:

  • Finish Kickstarter Single MEATER shipments by end of July 2017
  • Finish Indiegogo Single MEATER shipments by end of September 2017

New MEATERs on the Block

We apologize for the delay on the MEATER Block. Our resources were tied in producing MEATER probes for the past year. The MEATER probes are one of the most important components of the MEATER cooking system and without it, the app and MEATER Block would be useless. We knew how important it was to have the best wireless probes and allocated our resources accordingly. Now that we’ve improved our manufacturing process for the MEATER probes, our eyes, hands, ears, and toes are focused on bringing up the MEATER Block.

For the past few months, we’ve been progressing towards a finalized design of the MEATER Block. Our previous Block design validated all the circuitry components such as touch sensors, OLED screen, speaker, WiFi, and power. Based on practical measurements and simulations, the new updates to the hardware have improved the antenna performance used for WiFi and Bluetooth. We have now completed a new hardware design and expecting new MEATER Block units for validation mid-June and complete our tests immediately after.

To avoid long lead time issues, we’ve already done mass production tooling for all metal and plastic parts, purchased electronic parts from our supplier, and manufactured all mechanical parts.

Because we are in the testing phase of the new design, it is an ongoing process and we cannot yet confirm delivery dates for MEATER Block. Design adjustments may be necessary to make sure everything is working as specified. We will have better updates for you after validation of the new hardware.

Your First Cook with MEATER Video

Some of you already received your beloved MEATER! Watch this video for a quick introduction to MEATER's features and a how-to guide to get you started on your first cook. Let us know what you think and we’ll continue to produce helpful videos with tips, tricks, and recipes galore. Don't forget to subscribe to our new Youtube channel!

Let's Meat Up

Facebook: Click here and "Like" our page

Instagram: Click here and "Follow" us

Twitter: Click here and "Follow" us

Youtube: Click here and subscribe

MEATER! Click here to place pre-orders on our site!

44 | The Dark MEAT Rises
almost 7 years ago – Sat, May 20, 2017 at 12:44:35 AM

Production Update

We're making sure all signs are "go" as we incrementally increase our batch quantities. Here are some production numbers for you! So far we've shipped 200+ single probe MEATERs, ~700 are near-ready to ship, 450 are to be QC'd, ~1500 are traveling, and 3200 are currently being produced at the factory. 

The probes from each batch undergo thorough testing and if we find any issues, we make improvements in the assembly process and make adjustments for the next batch. For example, previously we found some cosmetic issues and have tightened up the screening process of the parts from our suppliers before actually assembling the probe. Before, we were testing every probe that came out of the factory to make sure each MEATER performs up to our standards. Yep. Every single probe! In the upcoming weeks we'll maintain our quality control standards by using standard industry sampling rather than testing every unit. That means higher production quantities, reduced delivery times, and the sooner you can prepare a beef brisket sandwich on ciabatta slathered with creamy horseradish with a side of 'slaw. 

Set Our Site

Our website - www.meater.com - has launched!! We're shifting from crowdfunding and onto our own platform. The site has been a long work in progress and will be fluid as we make updates, post videos, news blast, and refresh our FAQs. We will still be present in our crowdfunding platforms and answer messages during this transition phase. One thing we want to make clear is that, per product, we are fulfilling crowdfunding pre-orders before pre-orders placed on our website. Y'all brought us this far, y'all will receive your units first. 

Fulfillment

On a similar note, we are shipping based on region and order number within that region. This is why some later backers might possibly receive their pledge before an earlier backer. We ship from different locations (as we have multiple warehouses) to spread out the flow of fulfillment, reduce costs, and minimize transit time. 

APP

Updated app! Various features on Android are added/improved such as ability to name a Guided Cook, ease of registration and login, compatibility with tablets and larger phones, warnings for frozen meats and excessive ambient temperatures, accessibility to previous cooks, on top of exterminating bugs. Please download in the Apple app store or Google play store. Visit meater.com/app on your mobile.

Since our beginning prototype of MEATER, our biggest obstacle that influences our production delays is upscaling. Our original idea of producing a small number of units became ~10X what we had anticipated. Searching for the appropriate vendors for each component has been no easy task as we must take into account quality, pricing, performance, and willingness to accommodate our numbers. Considering the number of components MEATER has and each component must be fit our requirements regarding temperature, performance, and usability, a lot of pieces need to align for MEATER to work the way we designed it to. The wait has been longer than we all thought, but we're so happy that you've joined us in this learning process and we are now getting MEATERs into your homes. 

All the best,

Joseph, Teemu, and everyone at Apption Labs

Shipping Address Check

We will be closing the survey in 7 days so please update it by then. Here's how to check/update your shipping address so we send your MEATER to the proper place!

1) Go to our campaign page on the Kickstarter website.

2) Click the blue "View Pledge" button.

3) Click the "Survey" tab from the pop-up window.

4) Under your current listed address, click "Edit Address".

5) Please message us directly in Kickstarter if you've made a change.

Let's Meat Up

Facebook: Click here and "Like" our page

Instagram: Click here and "Follow" us

Twitter: Click here and "Follow" us

MEATER! Click here to place pre-orders on our site!

43 | 21 Jump MEAT
about 7 years ago – Thu, Apr 20, 2017 at 12:48:32 AM

Hi everyone! We held off on posting an update so that we can show you more of what's going on in production. Part of the team has been spending time at the factory, directly testing all units from manufacturing to weed out probes that don't perform to our standards. We understand delivery has been slow but we want to ensure only the highest quality MEATER probes are shipped to our backers.

A fraction of the probes we've been testing!
A fraction of the probes we've been testing!

 

Lined up and ready for testing!
Lined up and ready for testing!

In addition to the testing the probes, packaging also deserves a lot of attention, because what good is a robust probe without a robust protective box!

New protective inserts for the ready-to-ship box.
New protective inserts for the ready-to-ship box.

  

Drop testing new MEATER ready-to-ship packaging.

 

Analyzing the results of the drop test.
Analyzing the results of the drop test.

Building the MEATER probe is very challenging. Certain care and strict quality control must be employed in order to make sure the MEATER probes function to specification. We are taking the cautionary route and building small batches to better control the yield and performance of each MEATER probe. We will ramp up the production size as we continue to improve the manufacturing process. With that said, we will ship single probe MEATERs for the next 2 months in order of backer number. Like these!

Safe journeys, my friends...
Safe journeys, my friends...

MEATER Block continues to get worked on for both the hardware and software. When MEATER gets to mass production numbers, we'll estimate the delivery for MEATER Block. Thanks for hanging in there, everyone!

APP stuff

The MEATER app continually gets worked on and based on beta tester feedback, we've made adjustments, submitted a new version, and will hopefully get it approved and ready for download by the weekend. Some improvements include simplifying the initial set up to start cooking sooner, making registering for MEATER Cloud smoother, improving alerts and notifications, and adding the ability to customize a name for a Guided Cook to name a few.

We've been asked by a few backers why the MEATER app requires Location Services. In fact, the MEATER app does not require your location at all. The developers of the Android platform placed Bluetooth Low Energy under Location Services starting with Android 6.0. We need access to Bluetooth Low Energy to communicate with the MEATER probe and therefore must have Location Services enabled. Please let us know if you have any further questions!

Cook ON friends!

All the best,

Joseph, Teemu, and the Apption Labs Crew

Shipping Address Check

Here's how to check/update your shipping address so we send your MEATER to the proper place!

1) Go to our campaign page on the Kickstarter website.

2) Click the blue "View Pledge" button.

3) Click the "Survey" tab from the pop-up window.

4) Under your current listed address, click "Edit Address".

Let's Meat Up

Facebook: Click here and "Like" our page

Instagram: Click here and "Follow" us

Twitter: Click here and "Follow" us

You can still pre-order MEATER here if you want additional units or your friend missed the campaign.

42 | MEATlight
about 7 years ago – Tue, Mar 21, 2017 at 12:45:20 AM

WE STARTED SHIPPING!

Off you go!
Off you go!

We're happy to report some of our earliest backers have received their MEATERs! Although the first shipment was small, our next shipment will be larger. Our production process is slow but all of the extra testing is to ensure every single MEATER that comes out of the factory "meats" our high standard of quality. As we improve the process, we will ramp up to larger quantities and complete fulfillment of all MEATER orders in the coming months. We plan to ship the next batch of MEATERs by March 31st. With that said, if you haven't already, please double check that your shipping address is correct, we'd be deeply saddened if your MEATER ended up in the wrong hands!

We've also been working on MEATER Block and making advancements on both the software and hardware front. It's still early to give an accurate shipping date, but as soon as we're rolling along and confident in the results of our progress, you will be the first to know.

Thank you so much for all of your loyal support throughout this adventure. Here are a few more pictures of delicious food shared by our beta testers.

Much appreciated,

Joseph, Teemu, and all of Apption Labs

Let's Meat Up

Facebook: Click here and "Like" our page

Instagram: Click here and "Follow" us

Twitter: Click here and "Follow" us

You can still pre-order MEATER here if you want additional units or your friend missed the campaign.