Smart Appliances are Shrinking
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| Homeowners who wish to update their kitchens without breaking the bank should get ready to rejoice. Two separate devices are slated for release this fall that will help bring kitchen remodeling and design into the 21st Century without requiring costly renovations, like marble countertops and new appliances. Designed to make cooking easier and more integrated, the Meld Smart Stove Knob and the Orange Chef Countertop will change the way homeowners use their kitchens.
The Meld Smart Stove Knob comes with a temperature-sensing clip that attaches to pots and pans when placed on the burner that corresponds to the installed Meld knob. The clip and knob communicate via Bluetooth to discern the temperature of the pot — and to adjust the temperature of the burner accordingly. The Meld Knob also communicates with a smartphone app to control the burner in accordance with pre-programmed recipe requirements and automatically turn the heat off when the dish has finished cooking, making it safer than traditional stove knobs. The Meld is expected to retail at $149, making it a desirable alternative to investing in a new stove and an affordable option for kitchen remodeling and design choices. Orange Chef’s Countertop gadget relies a little more on connectivity. Something between a cutting board and a kitchen scale, the Countertop connects with various phone apps to learn when you exercise, how much sleep you get, and other information. The Countertop then uses this information to make recommendations on what to eat, providing recipes and step-by-step instructions on how to follow them. Countertop is able to connect with Vitamix blenders and Crock Pots as well. If you set the blender on the Countertop when you add ingredients, Countertop is able to sense if a deviation from the recipe has occurred, and will change the recipe instructions to account for it. Orange Chef is currently in talks with other kitchen appliance manufacturers about connectivity options. The Countertop is currently available for preorder at $99.95, and will retail at $199.95 when it hits store shelves later this fall. |
