PortMag.com The Look-Down Generation and Kitchen Trends
A new generation of products is hitting the home market, smart and miraculously multi-functional enough to stretch the definition of “killer apps” to mean mere appliances. Although these ovens and refrigerators seem sci-fi futuristic, we should be used to ordinary household gizmos doing the impossible—hello smartphone. Mobile technology has created a generation of people with high expectations who happen to look down at our phones a lot. We’ve grown up with, or have come to love the intuitive operation, connectivity, and convenience of this everyday appliance. Other than the dangers of driving or walking in a look-down trance, we’ve adapted to these devices well. Home appliance makers are responding to the demands and purchasing clout of a wide-ranging demographic with new offerings that would basically blow Betty Crocker’s mind. And they’re safe to use in your kitchen. According to Mark Steiner, Senior Manager-Industrial Design at Hamilton Beach, customers still want simplicity from their appliances, no matter how cool the available technology is. “Customers engage more fully with intuitive functionality. Appliance operation typically deals with heated and/or fast-moving parts, and people want to be confident they can operate their appliances safely.”
Wow factor is good, but usefulness gives innovation staying power. The hightech kitchen that offers efficiency and control will most likely be adopted permanently. GE has SmartDispense technology for their washing machines that stores up to a gallon of detergent and fabric softener and automatically dispenses them. All GE washers are Smart-Grid enabled, with E-wash and E-dry settings that can save up to 10 percent in water and energy consumption on every load. Similar to programming your favorite radio stations, you can also set favorite wash cycles, saving you time inputting steam, temperature and other options with every load. If your smartphone can map the night sky or translate foreign text, you’ll want a certain genius level of amazement from your other devices. Why not have a symphonic bath experience? Kohler’s VibrAcoustic tub has six speakers above and below the waterline that play music from a smartphone or an MP3 player. Intel’s Oasis research lab has developed a kitchen counter that suggests you what you can cook for dinner when you unload your grocery shopping onto its surface. It’s a slam dunk that app-enabled mobile devices are a fixture of our lives, so appliances that function in tandem with our phones will likely last as well. The GE Nucleus app shows you where your load is in the wash or dry cycle and notifies you when your laundry is done, helping to prevent sour wet towels or wrinkled sheets. LG Smart ThinQ has refrigerators with built-in LCD screens and proprietary apps that allow you to leave notes, post recipes and pictures, all without the aid of tiresome little magnets. The brilliant, WiFi-enabled 8” screen even gives you the latest news and weather, and you can map out family activities with Google Calendar. With Smart ThinQ phone apps, you can adjust the start time of pre-set
wash cycles, keep an inventory of what’s in your fridge, and even check up on your oven’s self-cleaning process. Sub-Zero/Wolf offers a multifunction countertop module that tells you when to tap into nonpeak hours to save on energy costs. It’s also something of a butler/concierge that cues music or dims the lights, and can make dinner reservations if you’re not in the mood to cook. Some of the new kitchen technology seems like gadgetry, and the kind of apps that work with smart phones don’t necessarily make sense in kitchens. “Just because technology can make a smartphone more intuitive doesn’t mean that application will have the same benefit with an appliance,” says Mark Steiner. He’s confident though that “Interactive appliances will continue into the future.” Amazing, multifunctional, ingenious, and practical come with a cost now. As these new appliances become “more believable” in Steiner’s words, in quality and performance, demand will increase and pricing will drop. One day, maybe soon, the smart kitchen will be as ubiquitous as the smartphone.