Whirlpool has announced a new product at CES 2019 this week, and it’s a smart display under its KitchenAid brand. The KitchenAid Smart Display is a 10-inch smart display that has the Google Assistant built-in, allowing you to give commands to the Google Assistant while you are cooking. This includes looking up recipes, setting timers and so much more. This smart display isn’t much different from the Google Home Hub or the others available from Lenovo, JBL and LG right now. This is because it is running the Google Assistant, but Whirlpool has added Yummly compatibility here, so you can look up recipes, but also watch videos on how to cook a specific dish. Whirlpool says that Yummly Pro is also launching at CES, which is going to allow users to cook step-by-step with guided video recipes from well-known chiefs. These include the names of Daniel Holzman, Richard Blais, Carla Hall, Jet Tila and more.
As with other smart displays, you can pull up YouTube videos on the KitchenAid Smart Display, you can also watch TV through select apps. One of those apps is YouTube TV. So if you do subscribe to YouTube TV, you can watch live TV while you are cooking in the kitchen. Unfortunately, Netflix does not work on smart displays yet, though that is something that will likely change in the near future. Users will be able to throw photos up onto this smart display as well, using their Google Photos account or photos from Google in general. So if you want a way to display pictures of your kids or your vacation, then the KitchenAid Smart Display is the one to grab. Finally, this smart display can still control your smart home products as well. Simply swipe down from the top of the screen, and you’ll be greeted with your smart lights, smart plugs and much more, that you can turn on or off.
The KitchenAid Smart Display can survive your messy cooking
This smart display is not as fragile as some of the others on the market. In fact, it can withstand a water jet. So if you are cleaning up and accidentally spray this smart display with the faucet, there’s no need to worry as it will survive. At least, that’s how it should work. But that also means that it is fully waterproof, and you can wipe it down if you do get flour or something else on the smart display. Now, you’ll want to be careful as this is going to be plugged in all the time. Water and electricity of course do not get along all that well. So while it can take a water jet, it’s not recommended.
Whirlpool is playing both sides of the smart assistant field
Whirlpool isn’t new to the smart home. It has been producing products that support both Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant for a few years now. In fact, last year at CES it debuted an oven that was compatible with the Google Assistant. So Whirlpool is not putting all of its eggs in one basket, which is a good thing for Whirlpool, and it’s something that other companies are also doing. Instead of sticking with either Amazon or Google, it is supporting both. This isn’t just because it feels that one may come out as the superior assistant in the coming years, but some of its customers may use Amazon Alexa, while others may prefer to use Google Assistant, and this way it has something for everyone.
Smart assistants isn’t the only thing that Whirlpool is adding to its products though. It also announced support for Wear OS, allowing users to control their appliances in their home using their smartwatch. This means that you could adjust the temperature of the oven from your smartwatch, when you are in another room. Whirlpool says that it is also planning to add support for the Apple Watch, which also makes sense for Whirlpool, seeing as the Apple Watch is the most popular smart watch currently available.
Pricing & Availability
While Whirlpool has not given a specific price for the KitchenAid Smart Display, it is said to be priced between $200 and $300. It will be available in the second half of the year. So there’s still time for Whirlpool to bring down the price and reduce the cost for making this smart display. That’s pretty far down the road for Whirlpool, but that is the usual case for products announced at CES. Many of these will not be available until at least the second quarter, with most being available in Q3 or later.