If you haven’t been living under a remarkably unsexy rock for the last decade or so, you know that Lovense is a technology company that started in 2010, building Internet-connected sex toys.
The science of Internet-controlled sex toys, teledildonics, was still in its infancy when the Remote Pleasure was released.
Previous Internet-connected sex toys had very poor reception, weak motors, and difficult, balky online connectivity that made them hard to use.
Dan Liu, the founder of Lovense, was in a long-distance relationship at the time, making a lack of sexual intimacy a real challenge to that relationship.
Lovense improved over the 2010s with the development and maturation of Bluetooth technology.
By the beginning of 2013, Bluetooth connection had matured enough to support data connection with a toy like Lovense, and the second-generation Lovense prototype was in development, to be released in 2013 as the “Max” and “Nora” toys.
With Max developed for penises and Nora for vaginas, these toys are still staple products for long-distance relationships and introduced Lovense’s trademark wireless Internet connectivity.
Improvement in the product line continued into 2016 with the release of the genre-breaking Lush V1.
We were excited every time we saw a new product from Lovense because it meant that there was a whole new way to play: the Gemini.
Lovense Gemini: Internet-Enabled… Nipple Clamps?
Lovense Gemini is a brand-new Bluetooth-technology nipple clamp design from Lovense.
They have great dual-vibrator action, creating a pair of large, flexible nipple clamps that are unlike anything yet produced for the market.
These are great options for people wanting a new innovative way to play long-distance or for cammers who want a new premium way to interact with their audience.
These clamps have all the features you expect from a Lovense toy.
They are Internet-enabled, Bluetooth-enabled nipple clamps that have great, powerful motors, they work with the app exactly like every other Lovense toy, with both localization and intensity of the vibration being selectable, and they have a great build quality and weight while being made of luxurious, premium soft-touch silicone rubber over metal, and thick, resilient silicone gripping pads that mean you don’t have to worry about feeling the bite of that metal in your skin.
A pair of set screws means that you can set the minimum depth on the claws, so they don’t bite together and pinch hard unless you really want them to.
Lovense’s trademark Bluetooth connectivity means any computer or phone with a Bluetooth connection could become a control point.
Lovense’s app has improved by leaps and bounds ever since they introduced the Lush V1, the first toy controllable from Apple Watch, in 2016.
Lovense’s toys, because of their Internet-enabled, distance-controllable nature, have been darlings of the camming world ever since Lush came out, and plenty of videos are out there with people exploiting the Lush.
The Bluetooth connection works every bit as well as Lovense’s other toys, maybe even better than some since it doesn’t have to fight for a connection through watery human body parts.
Since the Gemini is 100% external, the only thing you have to worry about is one of the Mr. Krabs-like claws coming off of your nipples.
And maybe your partner making bad jokes and laughing like the aforementioned crustacean. I found myself calling them “claws” as I tested them.
What’s The Upshot?
If you’re looking for a whole new, exciting way to interact with a partner across town or across the globe, and you’ve got a little money to burn, the Lovense Gemini nipple clamps are an exciting option to add to your play bag.
They have a little more heft to them than the average nipple clamps, making them impossible to hide under tight-fitting clothes, but the incredible possibilities of having an actual nipple vibe hiding under your bra when you’re out in public tremendously outweigh this penalty.
For cammers, the Lovense Gemini is going to be the most exciting new toy in your bag since the original Lush.
Not the most subtle toy on the market, and not the thing to go out in public with unless it’s cold enough to wear a coat in public (in which case you’re probably not feeling publicly sexy anyway), the Gemini is, regardless, one of the most intriguing new options to join the market in the last three years.
Its soft-touch finish and sturdy construction are typical of Lovense’s devices, and its presence in some of the best vibrating nipple clamps on the market, especially an Internet-enabled one, is a great touch.
We’re going to confess an interest in Gemini because it’s got some amazing potential for nipple play.
That said because it’s so big and bulky it’s not likely to have the same illicit thrill of something like Lush, which you can wear without giving away any of the traditional tells that you’re wearing a sex toy in public.
It’s not something that’s likely to generate the same quality Internet videos, but it is an interesting option, especially if you’re like some of us and have a low pain threshold on your nipples.
Introducing nipple play with some of the gentlest silicone grab pads on the market is a huge plus for the Gemini, and the adjustable tension screws mean that the springs can’t just snap the jaws closed on you – a huge relief for the intrigued but also squeamish.
Another amazing quality of these clamps is their toy-for-everyone appeal.
It doesn’t matter if you’re new to nipple stim or if you’ve been doing it for years, the fact that the intensity and placement of the vibration in each dual-motor clamp can be dialed with the flick of a finger on the award-winning Lovense app means that you can move the stimulation exactly where you want it and exactly how intensely you want it on a moment-by-moment basis.
Build Quality
Lovense uses high-quality materials and great care in putting together its toys, and the Gemini is no exception.
With dual high-powered motors and flexible four-inch nylon cords (for a total distance covered by these of about 10 inches), they’re a very luxe-looking and feeling toy.
The build is a hefty handful, though – these are not clamps of a discreet size, not one little bit.
With a length of each clamp of 2.24 inches and a width of 1.4 inches, they’re remarkably big crab claws to put on your nipples.
I know I’ve mentioned this before, but with their large size, you are not going to be pulling off some of the stunts people have made Internet videos about with Lovense’s other devices, like going into a public place with this secreted on your body and letting someone else play with you from a distance.
Unless you’re wearing extremely bulky and obscuring clothes, these are strictly toys for the bedroom and playroom, and maybe around the house.
Lovense’s build quality has always been superb and these little claws are no exception, with soft-touch finishing materials that make them as much of a pleasure on the outside as they are between.
Lovense also really thought outside the box with thoughtful inclusions like a necklace and bra strap to give users a good, easy way to support a nipple clamp system that’s a little heavier than average.
You also get a storage bag to keep the toy out of sight, out of mind when friends are over, a magnetic charging cable to avoid penetrating the cover with a hole that moisture could potentially get into, and, of course, a full set of print manuals to offer the user hard documentation on how to get the best use out of their toy.
This last is a crucial resource for those of us who aren’t as much into using the Internet for absolutely everything and might just appreciate being offline for a while now and then.
Shocking, I know.
Battery life & vibrational output
The only thing about the Lovense Gemini that’s not absolutely best-in-class is the battery life. It’s not terrible.
But at only 1.5 to 2 hours, it’s not going to win awards for endurance, and you should charge it back to full between uses or you could find these clamps going dead at an awkward moment in a play session.
Batteries in a toy, especially ones in a smallish toy like the Gemini, are always going to be a compromise between what you can pack in and what’s not going to jack up the weight beyond what you want to be dangling off your body, and for what it is, the fact that you can get 2 hours of battery charge in these little claws is nothing short of impressive.
The trade-off for the huge size that has been mentioned in this review a few times is that the vibrators are actually pretty powerful for something mounted in a pair of nipple clamps.
The intensity gets high and while you’re (probably) not going to have an orgasm straight-up from this stimulation alone (unless you can without them, not judging your situation), they are a good time for almost everybody.
App compatibility
Lovense’s famous and popular app control functionality is the model for every other app-enabled toy on the market.
The drawing-based app interface lets you change intensity and balance just by dragging your fingers on the screen.
It’s a joy to work with, especially compared to other Bluetooth-enabled toys’ much more complicated apps.
The app really is the magic that makes Lovense’s toys work the way they do, and it’s not just the Bluetooth interface but the entire package that elevates Lovense above its competitors in the Bluetooth-enabled sex toy space.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Since the entire unit is outside the body, there’s not a whole lot that can interrupt the connection with the Bluetooth transceiver
- Luxurious, body-safe materials make it comfortable, functional, and safe
- IPX6 water resistance makes it easy to clean
- Wireless control and dual vibrators make it the best device like it on the market. Internet connectivity is the only device like it on the market.
- Lovense’s popular internet control software makes it easy
- The Gemini is affordable at $79.00 USD. As high-end sex toys go, that’s a steal.
Cons:
- If you really can’t stand nipple clamps, these are not going to change your mind. Vibrators or not. Their weight is enough to pull on your nipples if you don’t have it supported in a bra or from the optionally included necklace.
- Battery life is short for intense play sessions, only 1.5-2 hours
- The street price is quite a bit if you don’t know you enjoy nipple play the way you enjoy other kinds of toy play.
Commentary
As someone who doesn’t do a lot of nipple toy play, I approached these with a little trepidation.
Even with Lovense’s reputation for building the best sex toys on the market, these are still nipple clamps, something I have a mediocre-to-bad history with.
The giant, gorgeous claws set my mind at ease once I had them in my hand – honestly, there’s just something about holding those huge pink claws in your hands that’s oddly soothing.
Their smoothness and easy approachability continue once you have them on, and the vibration was absolutely everything that I’d always been fantasizing about in nipple toys.
Conclusion
Maybe it’s not funny, as a video game reviewer once wrote, to love a toy.
But despite initial trepidation about their size and bulk, the Lovense Gemini nipple clamps are one of the easiest toys to love out there.
The app-enabled pattern and intensity selection are just as good as always, and the motors live up to Lovense’s reputation for power and quality.
If you want to try nipple play but have been scared off in the past, the Lovense Gemini might put your mind at ease enough to give it another shot.
