The Fridge Says It’s Out of Milk

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Culture & Trends

The Fridge Says It’s Out of MilkKaren Schwartz
May 1, 2018

Connected kitchens could make sure households never run out of staples. And that’s not all – manufacturers are trying to make the refrigerator a home hub for planning and playing.

The kitchen of the future is coming. CNN says it’s just a decade or so before “fully connected kitchens” update the way people prepare their food. Home appliance manufacturer Whirlpool’s got a video out for what that kitchen might look like – from technology that checks a fridge’s inventory to a cooktop that senses the right temperature for cooking a selected item, it seems to take the guesswork right out of making meals.

The New York Times, meanwhile, noted the Samsung Family Hub fridge as one of the technology items already making its way into New York apartments of the future. The fridge gives users an inside-look from anywhere with built-in cameras so they can see what they’re out of and might need to buy. When they’re home, technology can display notes or calendars right on the door, as well as play media. Increased connectivity – and this is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of where the technology is going – can for now let people control their dishwashers and ranges remotely as well.

The innovation currently available, however, might not be enough of a draw to lure consumers just yet, says Houzz, which surveyed homeowners in 11 countries including the US to see what’s trending. The survey suggests consumers are largely more interested in the usual when it comes to function and style than high-tech features, according to an article from the architecture, interior design and decorating website.

Houzz quotes Ken Burghardt, owner of kitchen and bathroom design company Domicile San Francisco as saying, “Programming ovens from an iPhone is not something people are doing, and people don’t care about a refrigerator that will send a message to your phone that it needs to be defrosted.”

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