Tomorrowland is Today: Take a walk through the modern-day smart home and see the potential of a house with IoT built into, well, almost anything. Best of all? Each one of these devices is (or will be) available for retail selling.
See also: What Is A Smart Home?
In The Laundry Room
The world’s biggest majap maker by dollar volume had much to cheer about in 2018. Its dogged pursuit of appliance rivals Samsung and LG through various courts, commissions and tribunals finally paid off with the imposition of stiff safeguard tariff-rate quotas on imported washers, designed to level the playing field with Korea’s government-subsidized models. But as the saying goes, be careful what you wish for: After developing a taste for sanctions, the Trump administration went on to engage China and others in a trade war that sent cost prices on components and raw materials soaring.
A speed demon of a majap, this 24-inch compact washer can reportedly tear through a load 35 percent faster than Samsung’s other models. How? It uses the company’s QuickDrive technology that has the large main drum and the back plate independently moving in four different directions. It also features Samsung’s SmartThings IoT platform built in.
As with the model above, Blomberg’s 24-inch all-in-one front-loader does both the washing and the drying in one machine. This one, however, is geared toward homeowners with tight spaces but can still manage a full wash load.
In The Bathroom
Shave and sing with QFX’s water-resistant Bluetooth mirror. It builds in an AM/FM radio for those morning traffic reports, and you can even take hands-free calls from your smartphone.
The waterproof Hang Up is a Bluetooth speaker with a sticky pad that can be attached to any wall or shower tile. The $20 model is IP67 rated to resist water, dust and sand; has a battery playtime of eight hours; and comes with a carrying case that doubles as a charger. Hang Up is one of 13 wireless headphones and Bluetooth speakers from Jam Audio’s just-launched lifestyle collection that’s aimed squarely at millennials and Gen Z.
The UFO smart mask promises to deliver a spa-level facial in the comfort of your own home. The masks eschew the typical gooey mixtures in favor of a variety of light, temperature and pulse technologies. Each routine lasts about 90 seconds. Suggested retail is $279.
