The lonely promise of cute robots
This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent every Friday from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest gizmos and potions that swear they're going to change your life. Optimizer arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 10AM ET. Opt in for Optimizer here.
Unboxing Mirumi is like traveling back in time. It's late 2025 when it arrives on my doorstep in a box that looks like a shopping bag. Inside sits a fluffy pink robot with an owlish face and surprisingly strong slothlike arms. It's soft to the touch, and then suddenly, I'm transported back to Tokyo, Japan, in 2011. I'm a lowly editorial assistant at an Englis …