Every year, there’s a new crop of gadgetry and smart electronics that affects every part of our lives, from security to health to entertainment. For 2018, homeowners who like to be on the cutting edge of new tech have a lot of time-saving devices to look forward to. For the latest, we looked to the January 2018 CES show in Las Vegas, which showcased cutting-edge devices and upgrades to many appliances and gizmos you have around the house.
Here are some of the stand-out products that are coming your way to make running your household easier.
Kitchens That Help You Cook Refrigerators can pretty much do everything but cook your meal, and we have no doubt that’s coming soon. Whirlpool’s smart fridge will stop cooling while it’s being cleaned and will tell you how long to cook your cut of meat. LG’s Instaview fridge connects to your LG ThinQ appliances so it can preheat your oven and set the dishwasher to the proper cycle for the pans you use, all according to the recipe you’re making, which you read from its display screen. From Samsung comes an appliance that can recommend recipes based on the ingredients you have and the preferences and food allergies you alert it to. It even writes a grocery list and can control the lights and thermostat, because we all want a fridge that can do that, right?
Bathrooms of the Future
The U shower by Moen and Elmer Smart Shower both react to voice commands, and the Elmer can even be adapted to spray essential oils. It appears, though, that Kohler has taken things a step further and made the whole bathroom smart. The Kohler Numi Intelligent Toilet includes a foot and seat warmer that begin to heat up as you approach, along with a bidet feature, music, and a night light. Plus, no longer will you have to flush with your hands; simply speak a command. With their DTV+ Showering System, you use an app to set the water to a specific temperature and flow rate and control lighting and music with your voice. Add to that the Kohler PerfectFill Bathtub, which lets you tell your tub the temperature and water level you want, then gather your pampering products while it carries out your commands. It also provides hydrotherapy and, yes, plays music.
Smart Security
E-keys allow you and other household members to lock and unlock the door with your smart phones. But that’s just scratching the surface. Smart front-door deadbolts can alert you when someone enters or leaves your home, are compatible with Alexa, and provide up to 100 e-codes for guests that can be set up for one-time use or for a specific window of time. The app associated with the new Array Smart Deadbolt from Brinks can lock and unlock the door, activate geofencing to unlock the door on its own when you are in range, and schedule access for codes, such as when the housekeeper is due or the pet sitter needs to come in.
Lights, TV, Action!
Other hot-ticket items in 2018 include smart lighting systems and TVs bigger than your wall. Smart lights use motion detectors to automatically guide you to the kitchen in the middle of the night for a snack, and the Aladin smart light can send notifications to family members if someone takes a tumble and can’t get up. For the TV enthusiast, how would you like a 146-inch TV in your living room? Yup, that is more than 12 feet of screen. How about a laser TV with a 100-inch screen? Yes! A roll-up (you read that right) OLED TV? You got it, but no price or availability has been announced. We can only guess at what the cost may be!
Robots are coming
Finally, it wouldn’t be a tech show if there weren’t some robots around. Many, like the Aelous 18, which cleans your house and monitors security, aren’t available for purchase yet. For dog lovers, the Sony Aibo 2018 robot dog has been updated to be better than ever. It can learn the layout of your home and family members’ voices, and it reacts adorably to being petted, moving its little ears and eyes, opening its mouth, and giving short barks!
New and connected gadgetry is infiltrating all parts of the home now. From mirrors to dishwashers to pets, it appears that everything is going to be connected to the internet in just a few years’ time. Are you ready?
If you're thinking about making some updates to your home or moving to a new house with more built-in Internet of Things capabilities, let’s talk about your financing options!
