I never expected to get my hormone levels checked at CES 2026, let alone with my iPhone, but this huge tech show is full of surprises.
Eli’s Hormometer is an innovative kit and app system for checking hormone levels at home. While not intended as a clinical or lab test for health, the Hormometer and app (introduced last year, but finally available now) can give you enough information about your testosterone, progesterone, or cortisol levels to make some lifestyle choices.
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Perhaps the most difficult part of the process comes next: you have to put one end of the stick in your mouth and hold it there for 60 seconds to make sure the Hormometer gets enough saliva. I suddenly felt dry in my mouth and worried that I couldn’t generate enough saliva for the test.
Nothing happens after you remove the stick. Instead, I had to leave it for 20 minutes while I guess the stick did its best to absorb my saliva and pass it through the stem to complete the necessary chemical reaction. There are no components, chips or power in the stick. It works in some ways like a COVID test kit. You just have to wait for the test to finish.
Winning on some hormone level
After 20 minutes, I picked up the stick and pushed it until a dot appeared on the other side of the test housing and a few lines representing my results appeared in the stick’s pill-shaped window.
To analyze my test, we used the iPhone app, which helpfully guides you through the setup, test, and results procedure. I placed my phone over the stick and lined up an on-screen wizard with the stick’s test result window.
A moment later I had my news. My cortisol levels were perfect (or in range for my age, which I interpret as “perfect”). This is good news because cortisol is the hormone that controls things like stress, metabolism, blood sugar, blood pressure and inflammation.
I asked the company representatives what you could do if the results show that your cortisol levels are low or high. They were careful not to suggest that this might lead to a doctor’s visit. Instead, they explained that high or low scores may indicate that you want to change when you exercise, for example, or even adjust bedtimes and sleep habits.
I wanted to know my testosterone level, but that part of the test is not ready yet.
For women, they would get progesterone levels, details of which could help them figure out what’s going on with their menstrual cycle.
Part of a trend
Although there is no cost for the app or the results, each test stick will set you back nearly $9. With that in mind, I was curious as to how often I might want to run such a test. You can test for cortisol and testerton once a week. Or even daily if you’re trying to get your cortisol levels under control. For women’s hormones, they can test just before, during or after their menstrual cycle.
Test results can be accessed in the app and even downloaded as a shareable PDF.
Eli’s Hormometer is part of a larger trend to bring traditional lab tests and health and medical equipment into the home, putting tests and some treatments (see Apple’s over-the-counter AirPods Pro hearing aid mode) into the hands of consumers.
However, I’m not sure if people will be willing to spend almost $10 every time they want to run an iPhone-based hormone test. At least Eli offers bundles that get you eight tests for $99.
As for me, I will take my strong cortisol results and celebrate.
