Whirlpool has said Apple Watch wearers will soon be able to remotely control their home appliances. It would mean smart watch owners could change temperature settings on ovens, delay cycles on washers or check how long is left to run on a dryer.
The manufacturer announced the development at the CES tech show in Las Vegas this week and said it’s the first time that an appliance maker has connected its products with the Apple Watch. Compatibility with Apple Watch will begin with a roll out to more than 20 of Whirlpool’s connected appliances this year.
The new technology heralds another stage in the rapid development of connected white-ware. Last week Amazon announced that you would soon be able to control your microwave oven from its smart assistant, Alexa. Whirlpool said Monday that will be a reality this year, stating that families will be able to control its 2018 range of appliances with voice commands to both Amazon’s Alexa and Google’s home assistant.
In a separate press release, also announced this week, Whirlpool said consumers will also soon be able to connect smart appliances to Honeywell’s line of thermostats. Those capabilities will allow consumers to set their appliance to “away mode” when their phone or Apple Watch detects that the homeowner has gone out.
One example would be setting a dishwasher to only start its washing cycle once a person was a certain distance away from the property and outside a “geo-fence”. The company added that managing the temperature of the home could also be set to sync with appliance cycles.
Brett Dibkey, Whirlpool Corporation vice president of brand strategy in North America, said the new technology would “take the guesswork out” of domestic energy management.
