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GE's Alexa microwave cooks when you scan a barcode (updated)
Want to know just how connected even a relatively ordinary microwave has become? Just ask GE Appliances. The brand has unveiled the Smart Countertop Microwave with Scan-to-Cook, which touts both Alexa voice control compatibility and its namesake scanning feature to speed up your culinary duties. The Alexa support is fairly self explanatory (you can use an Alexa device to add time or stop cooking), but Scan-to-Cook could be particularly helpful if you hate interpreting instructions on food boxes. You just have to scan a barcode on the packaging with a mobile app and it'll choose the appropriate time and power levels. In other words, you shouldn't risk ruining your macaroni the first time you nuke it.
Amazon Alexa now controls your microwave
Alexa's smart home skills aren't just for turning on the lights or locking your door these days -- now, they can help fulfill your culinary ambitions. Amazon has added cooking abilities to its Smart Home Skill framework, letting you control microwaves (and eventually conventional ovens) with your voice. Instead of pressing umpteen buttons, you can simply ask Alexa to "defrost 3lbs of chicken." Suffice it to say this could be helpful if you don't want to start cooking right away, or if you just hate your microwave's interface.
Smart bakeware tells you when your cheesecake is ready
Temperature is everything when you're baking, but it's not all that fun to keep poking your dessert with a thermometer or toothpick to make sure it's truly finished. You might not have to before long: GE Appliances' FirstBuild community has unveiled a Precision Bakeware concept that alerts you through a mobile app when your baked goods reach their ideal temperature. Instead of hanging around the kitchen out of fear that your cheesecake is overdone, you can walk away and finish watching that favorite show.
This machine makes cold brew coffee in less than 10 minutes
Cold brew coffee is delicious. It's about two-thirds less acidic than coffee brewed with hot water, which results in a cleaner, smoother and less bitter taste. Unfortunately, making cold brew coffee is a pain. You typically have to let the grounds steep for 12 to 24 hours, which requires a lot of planning ahead. This is not something you want to do when it's a hot summer's day and you want that cold brew coffee ASAP. Fortunately, however, there is now a solution. Say hello to the Pique, a coffee machine that can make cold brew coffee in less than 10 minutes. And, based on the sample I had, it tastes amazing.
GE wants to link your existing fridge to your smart home
There's no shortage of smart appliances now, but that won't help you much if you bought your gear a few years ago. What if you want to get your existing refrigerator talking to the rest of your automated home? GE may soon have a solution... if you're one of its previous customers, anyway. The company tells GigaOM that it's developing a WiFi-based Connect box that will link some fridges from 2009 and newer (all of them equipped with Ethernet jacks) to the Wink smart home system. While it's not clear just what this will do for your not-quite-cutting-edge food box, it wouldn't be surprising if the add-on at least gives you a heads-up when something goes awry.
GE forms new home energy management business aimed at bridging the 'utility-consumer gap'
GE has obviously been in the home energy management business for some time now, but it's stepped up its game in a pretty big way this week. The company has just announced the official creation of its new Home Energy Management business (or HEM), which will fall under GE's Appliances & Lighting division and will be led by Dave McCalpin (pictured above). According to GE, the new business will focus on helping both consumers and utility companies manage electricity consumption and costs, and it will oversee a whole range of GE products related to energy management, including things like the company's GeoSpring hybrid hot water heater, various appliances, and its new Nucleus energy management system set to go on sale next year. Head on past the break for the complete press release.
