There’s been a lot of talk about smart fridges lately because, let’s be honest, the idea of seeing what’s inside your fridge remotely on your phone is really cool. Think of the hours spent gazing forlornly into your fridge that you can save by doing the exact same thing from the sofa!
A smart fridge is just one relatively small piece of a smart home network—a home equipped with digital devices, home appliances, and equipment that are interconnected with each other and can be remotely accessed from anywhere with the help of a mobile device.
And it makes sense for smart homes to start in the kitchen, where a large number of energy-consuming appliances live. These futuresque kitchens allow users to control appliances remotely, help provide useful information and warnings, detect emergency situations, and collect data on appliance and energy use.
According to new research from Technavio, the global smart kitchen market was valued at $650 million in 2015 and is expected to reach $7.54 billion by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 63.53%. A big reason for this growth is the development of more diverse IoT standards, which translates into more (and better!) ways for your appliances to talk to each other, and share information with you.
Global smart kitchen market segmentation by product 2015
Source: Technavio
Technavio analysts have identified nine vendors who are expected to be instrumental to the growth of smart kitchens through the projected period.
Dacor
Dacor is an American firm that manufactures kitchen appliances like refrigerators, cooktops, wall ovens, warming drawers, and dishwashers. Currently, Dacor’s only smart appliance is the iQ smart microwave oven, but we expect them to branch out over the projected period.
Electrolux
Electrolux offers smart refrigerators called Screenfridge. Its offerings include the Electrolux Infinity I-Kitchen refrigerator.
GE Consumer & Industrial
GE is an American multinational conglomerate. Its smart kitchen products include smart fridge, ovens, and dishwashers. The smart fridge has an iPhone app to monitor and control different settings. The company is collaborating with Acer, DataArt, and Microsoft to drive the adoption of the software Snappy Ubuntu Core.
Haier
Haier is a Chinese consumer electronics and home appliances MNC. It released a smart window refrigerator in 2015, which CNET rated it as one of the best smart refrigerators of the year.
LG Electronics
LG Electronics also offers a Smart ThinQ super-capacity French-door refrigerator with a Wi-Fi LCD screen. It works with Slim SpacePlus ice system and Smart ThinQ technology. LG Electronics offers LG Smart AC along with a smartphone app that provides monitoring and remote control features for AC.
SectorQube
Kochi-based start-up SectorQube raised around $125,000 via crowdfunding platform Kickstarter for their smart microwave oven called Make All Incredible Dishes (MAID), which is a smart kitchen assistant and a multifunctional oven. In October 2014, a campaign was launched on Kickstarter to raise funds for its mass production. MAID is created to make cooking simple, social, and fun. It is the first microwave oven that brought crowd-sourced recipes directly to the kitchen through the Internet.
Onida
Onida offers smart ACs including Jade Champagne 1.5 ton, Ruby 1.5 ton, Elegance-INV18ELE7, and Marvel 1.5 ton. In January 2015, the company announced that it launched its Wi-Fi–enabled AC in India.
Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics offers a Wi-Fi–enabled LCD four-door refrigerator that allows access to apps, web browsing, and connectivity with other Samsung smart devices. The smart refrigerator includes Counter-Height FlexZone drawer and Twin Cooling Plus features.
The company also provides Wi-Fi–enabled smart ACs, including Samsung AR5000 Series smart ACs and smart AC Series II. The products are compatible with iOS and Android smartphones with Wi-Fi connection.
Whirlpool
Whirlpool offers Whirlpool smart Cabrio top-load washer, Whirlpool smart Cabrio dryer, Whirlpool smart front-load washer, and Whirlpool smart front-load electric dryer. It also offers smart refrigerators with 6th Sense Live technology.
