The latest essentials from the Consumer Electronics Show (toasters, coffee makers, mirrors...)

[brooklynite]

Griffin looks to make your morning routine smarter w/ new the Connected Toaster, Coffee Maker and futuristic HUD Mirror

Accessory maker Griffin is introducing three new smart home appliances this year at CES 2017 with the Connected Coffee Maker, Toaster and a futuristic HUD Mirror.

While Griffin is still being a little bit tight lipped about detailed specs here, the new Griffin Connected Coffee Maker is Bluetooth-enabled allowing users to set all kinds of different preferences built-in to the companion smartphone apps. The 12-cup drip coffee maker features a timer, coffee strength settings, and the ability to save to save pressurized preferences for “a brewed-to-order cup every time.”

....snip...

Griffin is looking to make your entire morning routine smarter and the next step is the Connected Toaster. The Bluetooth-enabled toaster can handle 2-slices at once with digital temperature settings “for bread type, darkness, even gluten-free options”. It syncs “with other Griffin Home products for seamless integration into your daily routine”, remembers your desired toasting settings and as expected, can be controlled with your phone.

...snip...
The fully customizable Connect Mirror will not only show you how gorgeous you are every morning but it also show HUD style displays for weather, notifications status messages and data from other connected smart home devices. Users can hide or reveal information with a simple tap and it will “securely link to your home’s WiFi network.”

https://9to5toys.com/2017/01/04/griffin-smart-connected-toaster-coffee-maker-hud-mirror/#more-237137

[underpants]

1. This thread is toast

Thanks. Looks interesting.

[frazzled]

2. I'd hardly call it "essentials"

I mean, really, how dumb are we that we supposedly need all these "smart" gadgets? Which are not all that smart usually, by the way. I like my coffee one strength, and I know exactly what coffee to water ratio I need to get the taste I want. I do not need a machine to gauge it. If you put the wrong amount of coffee or the wrong grind in it, it won't get it right anyway.

And how about this "smart" innovation winner?

The annual godforsaken hypegasm that is the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas has given an "innovation award" ... to a Wi-Fi-connected microphone-fitted allegedly "smart" hairbrush.

A comb through the technical specs of the Kérastase Hair Coach, a snip at around $200, reveals the high-tech hairbrush has sensors that monitor your hand movements along three axes, and an accelerometer and a gyroscope to log the number of strokes through your barnet. The gadget vibrates angrily if it thinks you're being too frenzied on your follicles.

Also included is a mic that listens to you mastering your mane to give you "insights into manageability, frizziness, dryness, split ends and breakage," according to the builder's blurb. It even has sensors to tell if the hair is wet or dry – in case you had a problem working that out for yourself.

All of this crucial data is collected and sent via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi from the gizmo to a mobile app, which crunches the numbers along with information about the weather, wind, humidity, and ultraviolet light levels. It then advises the fashion victim owner on effective hair maintenance given the surrounding environment and the state of their locks.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/01/04/iot_ces_smart_hairbrush/

Honestly, I look for the appliances that have the LEAST amount of hoo-hah and apps and buttons and electronics attached (like, how many cycles do you need on a dishwasher or washing machine, anyway? I've never used more than 2; so why do I need 10 choices?). I've got a computer, an iPad, and a phone to access information. I can make my toast and coffee and brush my hair just fine without assistance.

[Nay]

3. Ridiculous junk that fully demonstrates the abject failure that capitalism and market forces

actually are.

[crazycatlady]

4. Problem with these smart gadgets

Is more things to break. My fridge has exactly one job-- to keep my food cold. My coffee maker has exactly one job-- to make me a functional human being in the mornings.

[Greybnk48]

5. Fingerprints all over your mirror

all the goddamned time!

[3catwoman3]

6. I am eagerly awaiting...

...my Star Trek food replicator.

[haele]

7. And in my house...

The Toaster oven makes toast, bakes and broils when I don't want to use the plain old regular gas oven. And neither tries to wifi to China through my internet connection when the chips inside need an update.

The hot water pot quickly boils water (within a minute) to the preferred temperature to be poured into a coffee cup where a teaspoon of good cocoa has been dropped into using a Melita drip filter and some nice ground Kona or Blue Mountain coffee. May not be ready immediately, but there's a ritual involved with the making of the coffee that's calming first thing in the morning.

And it doesn't try to wifi to China through my internet connection when the chip inside needs an update.
My refrigerator keeps my produce, drinks, and leftovers cold, and my freezer keeps future meals frozen until I need them.
My mirror is my mirror. My shower is my shower. And they don't try to wifi to China through my internet connection when a chip inside needs an update.

As for interactive technology -
Our TV, Smartphones, or the household Echo can update news, weather, traffic or whatever else we want when we want the information. We do have a Ring for the front door - good for basic household security. Most burglars do try and verify if there's someone inside before they rob a place, and we can always check the door to see if we want to talk to them or tell the person to just leave because we're not buying what they're selling.

Now, I might want a household NEST or something similar to control the AC, detectors, and essential lights remotely eventually, but that's about the limit of hand-holding appliances I want.
But a smart toaster or refrigerator? Please. We need to get up and do some things for ourselves, or we end up like the humans on Wall-E.

Haele