At the beginning of September, the IFA was an opportunity to discover many technological innovations, some of which will undoubtedly be part of our lives in the coming years. And suffice to say that Haier did not come empty-handed.
The Chinese group has been moving towards connected household appliances for many years and hopes to continue to democratize them. From smart washing machines to ovens capable of monitoring cooking, there is plenty to do, since the firm is aiming for 100% connected products. But the company is aware that there is still a way to go before these additions are considered essential, and no longer gimmicks.
Artificial intelligence, energy savings: Haier pulls out all the stops
Household appliances consume a lot of energy, but they also allow you to make serious savings. A dishwasher requires less water than cleaning by hand, washing machines have programs adapted to laundry, and ovens can now be connected to applications capable of optimizing their use. And that’s without counting all of the home automation, which creates a fully connected and, in principle, more economical environment. But at IFA 2023, Haier showed that it wants to go even further.
The group wants to become the number 1 in connected homes and will therefore integrate artificial intelligence programs into its machines. Among the new products presented during the show, we find one of the washing machines from the ID Series range, the WashPass. When we observe it, we notice that the device is equipped with four tanks in the porthole. The latter, like printer cartridges, and depending on the content indicated, dispense the right dose of product and water. Added to this is the hOn application, which helps the user choose their program from a simple photo.
But that’s not all ! At the show, Haier also presented an oven equipped with a camera in its interior door. Bionicook and Bionic Vision technologies observe the contents of the oven, monitor cooking and provide advice based on the foods detected. Yannick Fierling, president of the Europe division, explains that the explosion in energy costs has motivated an acceleration of research into products to sell. Haier wants to be present to lower the bill, and the public follows with 6 million customers in Europe alone.
Making connectivity essential
Haier is number 1 in its sector in Europe. However, consumers do not yet seem to have been completely converted to everything connected. Several studies have shown that almost half of connected home appliance buyers stop using these features within 6 months. In other words, part of the public sees all of this as gimmicks, fun at first, then forgets about them as soon as habits take over. Haier wants to make this connectivity essential.
“ We must go further in what we offer, in terms of personalization thanks to artificial intelligence, energy efficiency, and overall the experience. […] We look for the scenario that will have added value for the person. […] With AI, we can adapt this scenario and manage a tailor-made solution. »
To better target customers, the hOn application that Western users use is not the same as in Asia. The teams want to imagine scenarios that correspond to local habits, and which will make the proposed functionalities essential. This work is paying off, since the various companies involved are recording an increase in the use of the tools offered.
This takes time and primarily concerns the functionalities found in all the players, but it is progressing. Finally, and still with this ecological perspective, Haier specifies that remote updates are primarily intended to improve the durability of the devices. Economical, simple, durable and connected, these are the key words of new household appliances.
Source : BFM Tech&Co
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