In 2021, I created the smart kitchen of my dreams. Three years later, I'm excited that my new kitchen has made cooking more fun and creative, but at the same time, the technology hasn't yet reached its full potential. Here, I'll share the appliances I added, what makes them great, how they've helped me cook more efficiently, and what I hope to see in the future to make my connected kitchen truly smart.
Initially, I wanted to create a space that would make cooking for my family of four easier, more enjoyable, and help me improve my culinary skills. From meal planning and grocery shopping to prep and cleanup, I wanted a futuristic dream kitchen.
My home has an extended galley kitchen that's about 150 sq ft, which is pretty small for South Carolina. My main goal was to maximize cupboard space while reducing counter clutter and cramming in as many high tech appliances as possible. Here's what I ended up with, and how well it worked out.
The most important piece of my smart kitchen puzzle was my Thermador range.
Smart Oven Range: Thermador Pro Harmony Range
Owned by Bosch parent company BSH, Thermador is known for its top of the line prosumer ranges. I've always considered myself something of a home cook, and this oven was a dream come true for me. In choosing this oven, I prioritized great baking, roasting, and grilling features over an oven with a camera. I also appreciated innovations like the star-shaped pedestal burners with cryogenic simmering capabilities.
I got all that. And more. The oven's Home Connect app gives you the option for remote control, temperature monitoring with a built-in probe, and voice control with Alexa and Google. Today, I've pretty much mastered voice control, which is handy when I want to turn the oven off from the couch. (I'm still puzzled, though, by the oven's insistence that you have to turn the oven knob to remote start to use these features.)
What I want next
As for the stove, I would really love to have an induction stove, but it's just not practical for my house for a variety of reasons. I dream of importing some amazing ceramic countertops from Italy, where you don't see the induction coil until you need to cook. Combined with FreePower's new wireless charging system that can be embedded into the counter, it would make for a very smart and very good looking kitchen (although very expensive).
From a safety perspective, I'm surprised there isn't still a better way to check if someone left the stove on other than using a third-party device or pointing a camera at them (I use an Aqara G3 camera for this purpose, and the pan and tilt capabilities give me a good view of my entire kitchen).
I saw a demo from IoT chipmaker NXP at CES 2024 that used a variety of sensors, including presence intelligence, to automatically turn off the stove if a pot is left on high heat and the stove is unattended. This type of intelligence, however, requires interoperability, which is still sorely lacking in smart kitchens. However, as Matter adds support for appliances and organizations like the Home Connectivity Alliance drive connectivity between different brands, this future looks more promising.
A smart kitchen needs a smart refrigerator. I've been using Samsung's Family Hub refrigerator since 2019, and unlike most appliances, it's only gotten better with age.
Smart Fridge: Samsung Family Hub
I've been using my Samsung Family Hub smart fridge for five years and absolutely love it. Sure, at the time it seemed silly to mount a giant Android tablet on the side of my fridge, but five years later the product has really come into its own.
Software updates mean you can now watch TV while you cook or plan your weekly meals right in the fridge. The built-in camera can (in some cases) identify food in the fridge and let you know when it's nearing its expiration date. And I found the new Samsung Food app (on the fridge and on my phone) useful for collecting recipes, managing grocery lists, planning meals, and following recipes while I'm cooking.
What I want next
Newer Family Hub models have more cameras and AI to help them recognize ingredients, but they can't know everything about every food in my fridge. They often misidentify products — for example, they always think my whipped cream is a sports drink — and those cameras can't see inside my pantry.
I want an automated system that knows exactly what's in my fridge and pantry and automatically suggests recipes, meal plans, and shopping lists each week.
Perhaps the future direction is a comprehensive food management platform that can be accessed from any screen or tablet and that works by knowing what items you put in your shopping cart when ordering groceries online. Ultimately, this seems more like a software solution than a hardware solution.
The Thermador dishwasher is great for cleaning dishes, but I wish the connectivity features were improved.
Smart Dishwasher: Thermador Emerald Top Control Smart Dishwasher
When I bought my Thermador oven, the company included a free dishwasher. It also works with the Home Connect app to send you alerts when it's done, let you know when you're low on rinse aid, and connect to online services to automatically reorder supplies. It also has remote control capabilities and scheduling options (so you can set the dishwasher to run whenever you want). Plus, the dishwasher itself works great.
I previously had an LG dishwasher and was able to diagnose a drainage problem just by using the app, saving me the expense of a repairman or hours on hold at a call center. This is not a feature of Thermador; the problem can be diagnosed remotely, but you still need to call someone. Still, remote troubleshooting, along with energy management, is one of the biggest benefits of connecting your appliances.
What I want next
Dishwashers are already so technologically advanced that there isn't much room for improvement. In a Jetsons-esque future, maybe someone will come up with a Bot Dish that works like Samsung's Bot Chef at CES 2020 and washes dishes for me.
With your Thermomix, you can make a delicious Hollandaise sauce in minutes.
The smart multi-functional cooking tool: Thermomix TM6
I previously wrote and featured the Thermomix TM6 on The Verge. It is hands down the most useful gadget in my kitchen. It's a sleek countertop device with 28 cooking functions and a built-in touchscreen for cooking guidance. In simple terms, it's essentially a blender that can cook, chop, mix, steam, knead, sauté, grind, whisk, sous vide, slow cook, and more.
It doesn't do all of these things really well (sautéing is uneven, and chopping often ends up looking like baby food unless you use the new cutter accessory), but as a single central place to do most of your meal prep, it's revolutionary. And although it costs $1,500 and requires you to pay $30 a year for the guided cooking/recipe features, it's worth it to me.
What I want next
Like nearly all smart countertop kitchen gadgets, the Thermomix is siloed in its own ecosystem. You can't send preheat instructions to a Thermador oven, nor can you turn it off remotely using voice or the app. There's no way to import recipes from other sources, and if you want a good guided cooking interface, you'll have to use the (extensive) recipe collection. In the future, I'd like to see a Thermomix that works with the rest of my smart kitchen.
Moen smart faucets can be activated by waving your hand or by voice using Alexa or a Google smart speaker.
Smart Faucet: Moen Faucet
The Moen Smart Faucet is a connected, hands-free, motion-activated, voice-controlled kitchen faucet. It's the most used gadget in my kitchen and my whole family loves it.
I can wave my hand to start and stop the water, I can ask Alexa or Google to dispense an exact amount (tablespoon/cup) at a specific temperature, I can ask them to start pouring water in the sink and dump a pan into the boiling water while I take the roast out of the oven, etc. This is one of those kitchen gadgets I really miss when I'm not at home.
What I want next
My model is older — Moen's newest faucet lets you adjust the temperature with hand movements — but I'm not sure I want to add any more complexity to a faucet.
This automatic coffee maker from GE Appliances doesn't have as many features as its non-connected cousins, but it can still brew a tasty cup of coffee.
Smart Coffee Maker: Cafe Affetto Automatic Espresso Machine
GE Appliance's Café Affetto is a $630 smart coffee maker that's a must-have in my kitchen. My husband and I love our morning Americanos and lattes, respectively. Sure, they're pricey, but so is a $7 latte from the coffee shop.
The smart features are very limited – the only advantage it has over non-connected automatic espresso makers is the option to adjust grind time and amount in the SmartHQ app – but the My Cup feature lets you customize your preferred coffee order (two long espressos) in the app, which is very convenient.
What I want next
What's missing here is voice control and automation: I'd like to be able to incorporate the coffee maker into my smart morning routine so that when my alarm goes off, the lights come on, the radio starts playing and Cafe Affetto starts making espresso.
Several premium built-in coffee machines from Bosch and Thermador can do just that, and your wish may soon come true, as Bosch unveiled its first connected countertop model at CES this year, but it's not yet available to buy.
While I love my “smart” kitchen, I feel like there's so much more potential when it comes to connectivity in my favorite room.
The smart kitchen of the future
I've also spent time with a variety of other connected kitchen gadgets that I've tested for The Verge, including the Tovala Smart Countertop Oven, GE Profile Smart Mixer, Typhur Smart Air Fryer, Instant Pot Pro, and GE Profile Smart Smoker. (You can hear my early impressions of the last three on the latest episode of The Vergecast.)
What they all have in common is that they're countertop gadgets with their own apps, ecosystems and specific functions. They're great in their own right, but so far they haven't connected to a broader smart kitchen ecosystem where appliances can talk to each other.
There is great potential in the smart kitchen space, but there needs to be greater interoperability and less reliance on separate apps to control each device. This is a common complaint not just in the kitchen, but across the smart home. Developments like Matter, the Home Connectivity Alliance, and Fresco's new KitchenOS platform are looking to solve this.
The Tovala Smart Countertop Oven is a very useful gadget even if you don't pay for a meal delivery service, but like many smart kitchen gadgets, it's locked into its own ecosystem.
The smart kitchen has many similarities to the smart home. But the kitchen, which was the most technologically advanced space in the home even before we started connecting appliances to the Internet, comes with its own challenges: a demanding, active area with a lot of single-purpose devices, it makes it very difficult to innovate and improve on already very impressive machines.
Eventually, better interoperability between gadgets and further software innovation (potentially powered by generative AI) may make some of my wishes come true. But the smart kitchen of 2024 is still in its early stages of adoption. If that’s not the case, I recommend opting for Wi-Fi connectivity when buying major appliances to future-proof yourself. Until then, you’re better off spending money on individual gadgets with features that meet your current needs and waiting until your smart kitchen is fully ready.
Photo: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy/The Verge